AHMEDABAD: A large quantity of seized liquor was stolen from Piplod police station in Dahod, Gujarat, a state with a strict ban on liquor.
A total of 15 people, including a police constable from the same police station and seven GRD jawans have been charged in connection with the incident.
The State Monitoring Cell (SMC) of Gujarat Police confiscated 916 boxes of liquor containing 28,336 bottles worth Rs 46.42 lakh from a truck parked near a hotel in the district on Sunday. At the Piplod police station, an offence was registered for the same. The seized liquor was moved to the police station's
evidence room.
After some time, the Superintendent of Police. (SP) Rajdeep Sinh Jhala of Dahod received information that some liquor boxes had gone missing from the Piplod police station. So they checked at the police station and discovered that 23 liquor boxes were missing.
SP Rajdeep Sinh Jhala told The New Indian Express, “I received a video where it shows a petrol pump near the police station, separated by a five-foot wall. In the video, there is a person standing between them, placing a box on the bike from the police station side. A uniformed police officer was also visible in the same video.”
“We therefore made the decision to examine the stock at the Piplod police station, which we had seized and moved to the evidence room of the station on Sunday. Along with other officials, I arrived at the police station, to verify the stock, and it was found that 23 liquor boxes and 10 bottles from the stock were actually missing."
The incident of box theft was reported at Piplod police station. Both the CCTV footage from the police station cameras and those from a nearby petrol pump were carefully examined. The footage revealed that the crates containing liquor were taken one by one and handed over to individuals on the other side of the police station's compound wall. An auto-rickshaw and a car were used as means of transport for the stolen alcohol.
“The heist was committed by 15 people, including a policeman who is working as a driver, seven Gramm Rakshak Dal (GRD) Jawans who are working under the same police station, one volunteer from the traffic brigade, and six others have been booked," SP said.
“Ten people have been arrested until Thursday," said Assistant Superintendent of Police, Limkheda Vishakha Jain.
In July 2023, a similar incident took place in the Gir Somnath district of Saurashtra. It involved the arrest of a police constable and three guards of the gram Rakshak dal (GRD) from the Sutrapada police station. They were allegedly caught selling a seized liquor consignment that was obtained during a
vehicle-checking operation.
Gujarat’s illegal liquor