Odisha Panchayat Polls: Over 3.8 Lakh Litre Liquor Seized, 1906 Warrants Executed

The Odisha Police has seized over 3.8 lakh litres of liquor from across the State during special drive against trade of alcohol over the period of last one month till the second phase of the Panchayat elections.

A statement issued by the Odisha police said that during the strict enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct a total of 388380.634 litres of liquor have been seized from across 34 police districts between January 19 and February 18, 2022.

The purpose of the crackdown is to make the three-tier elections to the Panchayati Raj institutions free from any untoward incidents caused by anti-social elements.

Similarly, 2310.96 grams of narcotics drugs were seized by the inspection teams during the drive.

As per police sources, more than 2.14 lakh litres of liqour have been seized from Balasore making it the highest among all police districts. Similarly, out of the total 38, a maximum of 11 arms were seized from Ganjam Police district limits followed by Rourkela (9).

A total of 1906 warrants have been executed with Ganjam district recording the highest of 239 followed by Balasore (234).

The Odisha government has already imposed a ban on sale and distribution of liquor 48 hours before the commencement of voting in all the five phases of the ongoing Panchayat elections in the State.
 

(Edited by Suryakant Jena)