A day after Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced a crackdown on liquor consumption at public places, the Delhi government’s Excise Department began inspecting liquor shops in the Capital and even registered an FIR against a restaurant for illegally serving alcohol.
According to officials, seven teams conducted inspections in Nehru Place, Paharganj, Motipur, Rajendra Place, Rohini and Gujranwala Town.
FIR against restaurant
“An FIR was registered at the Alipur Police Station (Outer Delhi) against a restaurant on the GT Karnal Road for illegally serving alcohol on its premises without a valid licence for running a bar,” said a senior government official.
The inspections also found that liquor vends had installed CCTV cameras in accordance with directions issued to them, and that these were functional.
All liquor vends inspected on Thursday were directed to strictly report cases of illegal consumption of liquor to the Excise Department control room.
“No major violation was found in the departmental stores during inspections. It was noticed that chillers in majority of departmental stores were found to be non-functional,” the official added.
On Wednesday, the Delhi government had announced that it would strictly enforce the Excise Act after November 7, under which consuming alcohol at public places would attract a fine of Rs. 5,000. If the offender creates a nuisance, the fine levied could go up to Rs. 10,000 with a jail term of three months.
Mr. Sisodia had said the government will run an awareness campaign against public drinking near liquor shops till November 7, with women’s safety and the law and order situation being the focus.
