Excise Dept Refutes Ariko Cafe's Claims, Reveals Evidence of Illegal Sale
Hyderabad:The excise department on Friday released evidence countering Ariko Cafe's allegations of misconduct, asserting that the cafe knowingly prepared and sold whisky-laced gelato. According to the department, a decoy operation was conducted on September 4, during which excise task force officials posed as customers and placed an order for the illegal product.
The department released WhatsApp conversations which showed that the cafe staff confirmed their willingness to prepare the gelato, requested an advance payment of `10,000, and notified the officials once it was ready for pick-up at their central kitchen.
On September 5, excise officials raided the cafe where 11.5 kg of the alcoholic gelato, along with bottles of whisky and vodka, were seized. VB Kamalasan Reddy, director of enforcement, prohibition and excise, stated that the raid was based on credible information, and the cafe’s actions clearly indicated their involvement in the illegal sale.
The department refuted cafe owner Gattu Sharat Chandra Reddy’s claims of a fabricated case and demands for bribes, stating, “If there was no illegal activity, they should have refused the order. Instead, they accepted the payment and prepared the gelato.”
Addressing accusations of officials planting the evidence, the department challenged Ariko Cafe to release their CCTV footage to substantiate their claims. The department emphasised that the issue lay not in customer complaints but in the illegal sale of an alcohol-infused product without a licence.
“The laboratory report has confirmed the presence of alcohol in the gelato. The case now rests with the judiciary, and we urge the cafe management to refrain from making baseless allegations and allow the legal process to proceed,” the statement said.
