211 Haryana liquor bottles seized

HYDERABAD: The enforcement wing of the excise department caught three persons at Ramkote here on Monday and seized 211 liquor bottles from them. The liquor, brought from Haryana without paying duty, was meant for Christmas and New Yeareve parties in the city.
Assistant commissioner of prohibition and excise (enforcement) AVV Satyanarayana Murthy said on Tuesday that the accused _ G Nagaraju, A Dinesh and A Gouri Prasad _ were transporting the liquor bottles which were meant for sale in Haryana where the prices are low. The value of the contraband is about Rs 5 lakh and the tax evasion about Rs 1 lakh. Referring to the furore over liquor syndicates in the state, Murthy said there was no syndicate of wine dealers nor liquor was being sold over and above MRP in the city. He also refuted allegations of corruption in the department:The day witnessed separate protests organised by the TDP and CPI in front of the excise commissioner's office at Nampally demanding action against politicians having links with liquor syndicates. As TDP women activists were staging a dharna there, CPI activists staged a rasta roko on the busy Exhibition Grounds road and were arrested by the police.