On January 26 this year, a resident of a slum cluster in Narela, Asha, was charged in an FIR by the Rohini District police for illegal possession of liquor meant for sale in Haryana.
The liquor seized from Asha’s home was part of over 3.20 lakh bottles smuggled from Haryana that have been caught by the Delhi Excise Department this year, according to official data.
On Wednesday, the woman was back in the police net, having been caught with illegal liquor again. But this time, the raid at her residence was conducted in the presence of Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal and volunteers.
On Thursday, Asha and some other women in the area allegedly attacked one of the volunteers who was associated with organising the raid.
A video of the victim, alleging she was beaten and paraded naked as revenge for the raid, went viral.
Though the police have arrested six women, including Asha, for the attack, they denied that the victim was paraded naked.
While the attack on the woman has thrown a spotlight on the rampant sale of illegal liquor in the area, government officials said that they have been aware of the problem for many years.
Lower rates
Enforcement against the smuggling of liquor from Haryana, which has lower rates compared to Delhi, has led to over 3.20 lakh bottles being seized from January 1 till December 7.
A total of 1,94,887 bottles of country liquor and 1,19,987 bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) have been seized. In addition, 5,939 bottles of foreign liquor have also been caught by the Excise Intelligence Bureau, with the latest haul of 183 bottles on Thursday.
Apart from liquor, 403 vehicles that were used to transport the illegal alcohol have also been seized, according to Excise Department data.
