Three persons, including an excise inspector, have been arrested while trying to allegedly smuggle a large consignment of illicit liquor from Thal to Dharchula in the district, police said.
Two persons were arrested with 616 crates of illicit liquor from Ogla barrier on Thal-Dharchula road on Tuesday evening, Pithoragarh SP RC Rajguru said.
During interrogation they mentioned the name of Bhuwan Chandra Dangwal, an excise inspector with whose complicity they were trying to smuggle the consignment to Dharchula, he said.
The excise official was arrested soon thereafter, the SP said.
Apart from 616 crates of liquor, two pick-up vehicles used for committing the crime were also seized, he said.