150 Liquor Outlets Shut Shop Over Alleged Cash Seizures, Police Harassment
HYDERABAD: Owners of over 150 liquor outlets in Malkajgiri, Medchal and surrounding areas shut shop due to alleged harassment by the police, who, owners claim, were seizing the money from their counters citing the model code of conduct (MCC), despite the staff producing relevant documents.
On average, each liquor shop has a daily collection of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, with sales peaking after the evening. “It is not possible to deposit below Rs 50,000 at night. Most times, the ATM server hangs up and the dealer insists that we deposit the lumpsum amount,” P. Govardhan, a liquor shop owner, said.
M. Ashok Reddy, another liquor shop owner, accused the police of taking advantage of the situation by visiting their shops shortly before the counter closes.
“They take our vehicle number, in which we daily transport the cash to our houses, and seize our earnings. This has been happening since the MCC was announced. Lakhs of rupees have seized despite producing the relevant documents,” he said.
Another liquor shop owner said that at the time of the seizure, the police assure they will return the money at the police station, but it is sent to the income tax department. “It is only possible to get our money back only after elections,” the owner said.
“Initially, the government said that if we carry above Rs 50,000, we need to produce the supportive receipts. We always carry ‘Naukar Nama’, income-tax receipts, denomination slips, sales slips, bank slips, valid licence and other documents that proves our money is white, but the police have seized over '90 lakh. None of the shop owners has money to buy fresh stock. So, we decided it was better to close our shops till the elections,” Srikanth Reddy, another liquor shop owner, said.
Ashok Reddy said that the owners of these 150 shops, all of which fall under the Rachakonda police commissionerate, gave a representation to the district collector, who assured that he would come up with a solution after discussing it with the police and excise officials.
The police maintain they have been directed by senior officials to take stringent action if a person is found carrying over Rs 50,000 until the elections are completed.
“If anybody violates the rule, we follow legal procedure,” said B. Sravan Kumar, Uppal police inspector.
“We have instructed the wine shopowners to follow the norms, and deposit the money below Rs 50,000 in the ATMs. It may take time but the seizures could have been prevented. We do understand their issues and are talking to senior officials to come up with a solution,” he said.
