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Unarmed, Excise staff stops raids
Unarmed, Excise staff stops raids, Liquor mafia, Forest officials. Increasing attacks on the unarmed forest officials have had a cascading effect on the Prohibition and Excise department
- Fear of retaliation by bootleggers dampens spirits
- Enforcement wing often comes under brazen attacks
- Attacks in recent past resulted in amputations for 3 officials
- Govt fails to release funds for procuring weapons
- Department needs Rs 100 crore for arming the field staff
Hyderabad: Increasing attacks on the unarmed forest officials have had a cascading effect on the Prohibition and Excise department. The field staffs are hesitating to venture into dens of bootleggers who are armed and resorting to attacks to scare them away.
The apathy of the State government in provide weapons to the field staff of the enforcement wing of the Prohibition and Excise resulted in the staff calling off the raids on illicit brewing centres all over the state.
The decision was prompted by two instances wherein the staff came under stacks recently. Illicit liquor brewers in attacked the staff in Hyderabad, injuring two officials seriously. In another attack in Guntur, three officials were attacked viciously, resulting in amputation of legs for two and a hand for the third.
As a result, the staff have become jittery, and are refusing to carry out any raids. At a recent meeting held by Enforcement Director G Suryaprakasa Rao to review the performance of the force, the district authorities informed that lack of weapons was a major stumbling block in cracking down on the illicit brewers. Sensing the threat to their lives in hyper sensitive areas, the officials had given up raids, he was told. They made it clear that unless arms and ammunition were provided, they would not risk their lives.
It is a known fact that illicit liquor mafia holds sway in many districts, and cause a huge loss to the state exchequer, dampening the sales of liquor at licensed shops. Warangal, Medak, Mahabubnagar, Guntur, Srikakulam and Anantapur and Kadapa are among the district identified as hyper sensitive zones.
Officials told The Hans India that the government sanctioned Rs 50 crore for purchase of weapons last year. But, the funds were yet to be released. According to the State Excise Act, the officials working in the Enforcement Department should be equipped with arms on a par with the police. However, the norms have not been followed for decades.
There are 670 officials in the rank of Circle Inspectors, 1,100 SIs and 6,000 constables. However, they are pitted helplessly against the armed gangs of the brewers and liquor mafia. It is said it would require at least Rs 100 crore to strengthen the enforcement wing with weapons.
