Hyderabad: Illicit liquor traders attacked Excise officials during a raid at Singareni Colony of Saidabad on Tuesday morning. A sub-inspector and a constable were injured in the incident.
The assaulters, including women, threw chilli powder at the officers and pelted them with stones, before fleeing. Prior to the assault, the three-member Saroor-nagar Excise special squad had caught two people and recovered illicit liquor from them. However, a mob confronted the cops and attacked them to rescue the apprehended people.
The injured cops were given first aid at the nearest hospital. SI K. Ramgopal, who was injured, said that it was a sudden attack. “Following a tip off, we went to the colony to conduct a search. We caught two people —Venkatram and Jyothi, alias Moti — after finding ID liquor in their houses.
However, 40 people gathered at the spot and stopped us. The men and women started beating us after throwing chilli powder on our faces. While many watched, five to six people kept on beating us with sticks and bricks,” said the SI.
Most of the assaulters fled when other cops reached the spot. Excise officials arrested several women and took them in custody. Ramgopal sustained injuries on one side of his face while the other official received a minor injury.
Excise officials filed a complaint against the gang with the Saidabad police. The cops booked a case against the assaulters under IPC Sections 353, 506 and 332.
Next: Officials scared to raid ganja farmers in Vizag
Officials scared to raid ganja farmers in Vizag
S.N.V. Sudhir | DC
Visakhapatnam: It is not only the forest officials of Chittoor district who are finding it difficult to crack down on red sanders smugglers, even Excise officials are scared to enter the Vizag Agency tracts to destroy cultivations of marijuana that are planted in a large scale by smugglers from Tamil Nadu with the help of local tribals. Excise officials fear that they will be attacked by the tribals when they enter their terrain.
With crores of rupees worth marijuana being caught in the plains while being transported to various parts of India, it’s evident that the cultivation of the plant is rampant.
Though authorities have been successful in curbing the transport of the plant, they have failed to put an end to marijuana cultivation.
Staff crunch in the Excise and Enforcement wings, fear of attacks from tribals, alleged cover given by Naxals and inaccessible tough terrains have helped the marijuana cultivation thrive.
