The Bhandup police, investigating a hooch racket that was exposed earlier this week, suspect that apart from Sion Koliwada, the hooch was being supplied to a dealer in Dahisar.
The Hindu had on Tuesday reported how the lid was blown off the racket after the Indigo car transporting the hooch was involved in an accident. The car driven by Arumugam Mudaliar (52) ran over a 67-year-old man and rammed a florist’s stall in Bhandup, after Mudaliar allegedly dozed off. He was arrested and a search of the vehicle revealed 1,040 litres of hooch in five tyre tubes in the trunk, which was allegedly made in Bhiwandi and being taken to Sion Koliwada.
“We tracked the cellular location of the wanted accused, who was with Mudaliar, but fled after the accident, for several days prior to the accident. We found that after going to Sion Koliwada, he visited Dahisar before going back to Koliwada. We suspect that one batch of the hooch was dropped at Sion Koliwada and the second batch at Dahisar,” said an officer with the Bhandup police. The police said investigations point to a well-organised racket, with different people handling different aspects of the operation. Known only as ‘Shetty bhai’, the wanted accused is believed to have been in charge of the transport of the hooch.
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Investigating officials said Shetty had roped in a large group of Sion Koliwada residents, where he himself stays, who work as drivers for hire, and would use a different driver for each hooch run. The idea was to prevent anyone from getting close to the operation over frequent interactions, and to avoid detection, as a single driver making the same trip every night could have aroused suspicion. “We have also identified two more accused in the case. The first one handled the making and dispersal of the hooch from Bhiwandi, while the other would receive the hooch at Sion Koliwada and disperse it,” the officer said.
Mudaliar has been remanded in police custody till May 13, and is currently being interrogated.
Probe points to a organised racket with different people handling different aspects