7,000 litres of illicit liquor seized in Punjab's Tarn Taran

The Punjab Police on Wednesday seized 7,000 litres of illicit liquor from Tarn Taran district during an operation carried out with the help of drones equipped with cameras. The operation was carried out in Mand area of Marrar village in Harike alongside Satluj riverine area in the district, they said A manhunt has been launched to track seven people named as accused in the case, Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said in an official statement here, adding that all the suspects are natives of nearby villages.

Seven boats were also recovered from the spot, six working stills were also found and destroyed at the site itself, he said. The raid in Mand was carried out by police personnel in close coordination with the state excise and forest departments, he added. Giving details of the raid, Gupta said a massive search operation was launched in marshy areas with the help of drones mounted with HD cameras to pinpoint the exact location of the working stills and activity of suspicious persons in the grassland.

Trained operators specially requisitioned from Punjab Armed Police, Jalandhar, were pressed into service to conduct a recce of approximately 2 sq. km area a day prior to the raid, he said. The area is not accessible due to tall elephant grass. Hence, drones were used, he added.

The footage from the drone cameras was shown to residents of nearby villages to identify the suspects. Daler Singh, Kulbir Singh, Laly, Manjit Singh, Fuman Singh, Mohan Singh and Balwinder Singh alias Nimma have been named as accused on the basis of information provided by the locals, the DGP said. An FIR has been registered under the Excise Act, according to police. Recently, over 120 people died in Punjab's Tarn Taran, Batala and Amritsar districts after consuming illicit liquor.