Water tanker used to smuggle liquor into Bihar; one held in UP's Bhadohi

Bhadohi (UP), Jul 13 (PTI) Liquor smugglers transporting consignments from Haryana and Punjab to the prohibition state of Bihar have adopted a novel modus operandi by using water tankers mounted on farmers' tractors to ferry illicit liquor, police here said on Monday. According to police, farmers are paid a lump sum for allowing their tractors to be fitted with water tankers instead of trolleys for smuggling the contraband into Bihar, where it is sold for hefty profits. Additional Superintendent of Police Shubham Agrawal told reporters that police recovered 1,005 litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), valued at around Rs 11 lakh, from a water tanker attached to a tractor parked overnight on a service lane of National Highway-19 under Gopiganj police station area. He said the tractor driver, identified as Manoj alias Rahul Saini (28), was detained based on suspicion. The accused is a resident of Abadgarh village in Thana Bhawan area of Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district. During interrogation, Saini told police he had been promised Rs 25,000 for transporting the water tanker, loaded in Kurthal area of Panipat in Haryana, to Bihar, Agrawal said. The officer said 114 cartons of IMFL, containing 1,005 litres of liquor, were concealed in the front section of the tanker, while the rear section had been fitted with a functional water outlet to make it appear as a genuine water tanker. Police have seized the tractor and tanker, registered a case under relevant provisions, and arrested the accused. Further investigation is underway to identify others involved in the interstate liquor smuggling, the officer said. PTI COR ABN ARB ARB