Shimla, Jan 24
State Excise and Taxation department under scanner due to death of seven people recently in ‘hooch’ tragedy has started tightening noose around liquor bottling plants for alleged irregularities. A spokesman of Excise Department said here today that the license of a liqour plant located at Galu in district Mandi has been suspended.
He said that on 18th January, 2022 the bottling plant located at Galu, Jogindernagar in district Mandi was inspected by the officials of the Excise Department and some irregularities have been found during the inspection and today, on 24th January, 2022, after hearing the director of this bottling plant, Commissioner State Taxes and Excise, HP has suspended the license of the plant and further action will be taken in this matter as per rules by the department.
In this case, the departmental officer has also been suspended considering him prima facie guilty and further disciplinary action was being taken against him. He said that apart from this, 9 cases of irregularities have also been found during the checking of liquor bottling plants located in the state by the officers of the department in the last few days and a fine of Rs. 32.27 lakh has been recovered and license has been suspended.
In all these cases, the departmental employees have been suspended considering prima facie guilty and further disciplinary action was being taken against all of them.
The spokesman said that during the inspection of retail and wholesale shops in the last few months, a total of 151 cases of irregularities have been caught in by the departmental officers, in which two cases on wholesalers of liqour in district Kangra and one each in district Una and Bilaspur, in which a fine of Rs. 8.62 crore has been imposed by the department and three licenses have been cancelled and an FIR has also been lodged against a wholesaler in the police.
It was worthwhile to mention that two full-fledged ilicit Liquor bottling plant were found by police investigating Hooch tragedy under Sundernagar police station.
