Raipur. In compliance with the clear and stringent instructions of Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai, the Excise Department has initiated strict action against the officials who have been negligent and indifferent in stopping the transportation, collection and business of illegal liquor. In the surprise inspection of the state level flight, along with suspension of three circle officers when the case of illegal liquor in Balodabazar, Mahasamund and Rajnandgaon districts, 6 senior officials of the Excise Department have been issued a show cause notice and replied with them.
According to the information received from the Excise Commissioner, along with suspension of Smt. Motin Banjare of Balodabazar district, in the case of negligence and indifference in the case of banning the business of illegal liquor, along with the District Excise Officer Gajendra Singh, Assistant Excise Officer and Divisional In -charge Jales Singh have been issued a show cause notice. The state level flying squad seized 104 boxes of foreign liquor of Madhya Pradesh state in a guerrilla action taken in April in village Bansankara in Balodabazar district. This action has been taken in this case considering the said officers prima facie guilty.
Similarly, on 3 May 2025, 14 boxes of indigenous liquor, 8 boxes of Goa, 14 boxes of Odisha state have been suspended in Bagbahara in Mahasamund district, Mukesh Kumar Verma, in -charge of Bagbahara, in charge of seizure of beer and 13 nos of foreign liquor, while there has been issued to the District Excise Officer Nidhish bail and Divisional Officer -in -charge Uttam Buddha Bhardaj.
432 boxes of foreign liquor and huge amount of empty bottles, lids, labels and 4 thousand nos were seized in 432 boxes of foreign liquor, lids, labels and 4 thousand nos in a raid action conducted by the police in a farm house of village Kalari Latmar Marg in Dongargarh, Excise Circle in Rajnandgaon district. In view of the seriousness of the matter, Anil Kumar Singh, in-charge of the circle Dongargarh has been suspended, while the then Assistant Excise Commissioner of Rajnandgaon, Mr. Yadunandan Rathore and Divisional in-charge Sandeep Sahara have been summoned by issuing a show cause notice.
It is worth noting that Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai had instructed departmental officers to strictly stop illegal transportation, collection and business of liquor in the state. The Chief Minister had clearly stated that the Excise Officer should strictly ban it in their respective areas and take effective action against the people involved in it. There will be no tolerance of any kind in this case. The Chief Minister had also said that action will be taken by the state level flight, if the case of illegal liquor in the districts is caught in the districts and action will be taken on the concerned officials. The suspension of the officers in charge of the above three circles and the notice issued to 6 senior officers of the department is the result of this.
Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai has said that the illegal liquor business in the state will not be allowed to flourish at any cost and the policy of ‘zero tolerance’ will be adopted in this direction. Excise Secretary Mukesh Bansal and Excise Commissioner Shyam Dhawade have directed all district and divisional officials to ensure immediate and strict action on any information in the construction, transport and sale of illegal liquor. In this, strict disciplinary action will be taken against the officials concerned on the negligence of anyone.
