Liquor shops in Budhlada closed for seven days

The liquor shops in Budhlada have been shut down for the next seven days as it was found that country- made liquor was being sold there at throwaway prices.

On April 16, the distrcit police caught two men carrying 11 crates of country-made liquor which was bought from Budhlada to be sold at exorbitant rates. The police had then registered a case against Sukhwinder Singh and Baba Singh under Section 61 of the excise Act for selling liquor in Mansa after purchasing it from Budhlada liquor shops. The police later claimed that they were habitual offenders in this respect. Both the accused were later released on bail.

However, the excise department reported the incident to the excise and taxation commissioner of Faridkot division. An inquiry was carried out by the commissioner and on Thursday, it was decided that all 29 liquor shops, owned by the Budhlada group, will remain closed for seven days.

"The Budhlada group, which was recently given the contract of running liquor shops in Budhlada division, has been asked to suspend their operation for the next seven days as one of their shops was involved in the case. This has been decided according to the excise Act," said excise inspector Surendra Lal.

The Budhlada group, which runs around five liquor shops in the Budhlada town and 24 others in the nearby villages is owned by a group of 20 people. The group has been given the contract for the first time.