Excise sleuths bust illicit liquor business in Puri, arrest 3 persons

Puri: The Excise Department seized huge amount of illicit liquor after conducting raids in Balipatpur village under Krushnaprasad police limits in Puri yesterday and arrested three persons in connection with the case.

After receiving a tipoff, a special squad of the Excise Department went to conduct raid in Paika Sahi area and seized about 300 bottles of country-made liquor, 116 bottles of beer, 252 bottle of IMFL and 10 litres of illicit distilled liquor yesterday. The liquor bottles were reportedly stored and hidden in boxes under bushes in a field.

Last month, Excise officials busted a duplicate liquor manufacturing unit which was operating inside an ashram near Khandagiri area of Bhubaneswar.

With the rise in incidents of cash and liquor seizures in Odisha during elections, concerns are being raised over free and fair conduct of polls across the State.