The State Excise Department busted a bogus Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) factory at Gondwana Pimpri village in the Hingna area and seized a huge quantity of spurious liquor. The raid led to the seizure of 1,090 litres of spurious liquor blend. The officials raided bungalow number 133 in My Town Society, Sector-8, Gondwana Pimpri, where a full-fledged unit producing fake liquor was found to be operating. During the raid, officials recovered 1,090 litres of counterfeit Indian-made liquor blend, which was being prepared for bottling and sale in the local market.

 

Apart from this, 356 bottles of Goa Whisky, sale of which is prohibited in Maharashtra, and 90 bulk litres of other counterfeit liquor were also seized. The large volume of fake liquor indicates that the unit was supplying alcohol on a large scale. Excise officials also seized equipment used in the illegal activity, including an electronic bottle sealing machine, fake paper labels of the Rocket brand, caps, empty bottles, plastic caps of counterfeit Royal Stag liquor, and a four-wheeler vehicle used for transportation. The total value of the seized material is estimated at Rs 24.67 lakh.

 

A case has been registered against seven accused. The main accused, Shubham Govind Tiwari (31), is absconding, while others named in the case include Govind Ramdutt Tiwari, Shailendra Dhurve, Raghunath Uike, Rajkumar Uike, Dwarka Shivlal Inwati, and Pramod Nathuji Sayam. Further investigation is being conducted to trace the supply chain. Sources informed that the liquor factory was operations for past one year. The action was made by District Superintendent Suraj Kumar Ramod.