Hyderabad: Wine shop owners doing brisk business during lockdown

Mahbubnagar: Taking advantage of the lockdown and due to high pressure from customers, wine shop owners in some parts of the erstwhile Mahbubnagar selling liquor for very high prices and making huge profits. They are reportedly shifting stocks during night-time.

Recently, a few residents of Atmakur mandal in Wanaparthy district lodged a complaint against a wine shop owner in the mandal, alleging that the wine shop owner has stealthily shifted entire liquor stocks from his shop by breaking the seal on the lock stamped by the Excise authorities, during night.

Later they are selling the liquor to belt shop owners in villages at exorbitant rates.

Excise Circle Inspector Mallikharjun said that they started investigation following the residents' complaign and found out that the wine shop lock, sealed by Excise authorities, was broken.

After seizing all the documents of the stocks from wine shop owner and formed a team to raid on some of the belt shops in the villages to cross check if the socks in the wine shop and those sold at belt shops are the same. Based on this, cases will be booked, he explained.

Residents of villages and Atmakur mandal pointed out that wine shop owners are selling wine f at Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per full bottle and they are charging Rs 300 to Rs 500 for a single beer.

"Its very distressing when the police, revenue and health departments are working round-the-clock to ensure the lockdown is being implemented perfectly to avoid the spread of coronavirus, liquor shop owners are cashing in the situation by selling liquor to habitual boozers for a price three to four times more than the MRP," stated Ravindra, a resident of Atmakur.

Taking cognisance of this case, the excise department and the enforcement department authorities has become alert and formed teams to keep a vigil on wine shops and their activities during the lockdown in Wanaparthy, Gadwal and Mahbubnagar districts, informed Enforcement Circle inspector Ganapathi. He said they had already raided some belt shops in Atmakur and seized five cartons of wine and six cartons of beer from two different belt shops. He warned that cases will be booked against wine shop owners if they violate the lockdown norms and will be punished as per law.