Himachal overflows with smuggled liquor

Police stations across Himachal Pradesh are overflowing with seized liquor bottles, and the worst affected is the Shimla district.

Local newspaper reports say nine police stations in Shimla town and district have a whopping 47,882 whiskey bottles, and country made liquor and beer bottles. Four of these stations are located in this resort town alone.

The largest number of bottles are lying in the Boilugunj police station in Shimla west and has around 18,000 liquor bottles, two-thirds of them are beer bottles.

"There is more liquor in the cramped Boilugunj police station than in some of the liquor vends in the state," said a police official.

Due to steep excise rates in the hill state, liquor is one of the most expensive commodities in Himachal Pradesh.

As a result, the smuggling of cheaper liquor from neighbouring states is common which is confiscated by the police.

The police say the stock of liquor seized from smugglers remains with the police as 'case property' but the police and the state excise and taxation department have not for over a year auctioned this liquor which is leading to rising stocks in some of the police stations.

While whiskey has a long shelf life, it is beer which may have turned stale as it doesn't last more than six months, say others.

"We will be requesting the concerned courts for immediate auctioning of seized liquor bottles in many police stations," Susheel Negi, the state excise and taxation commissioner said.

Huge stocks of liquor also lie in other eleven districts of the hill state for which details were not available.