The Excise Department swung into action by transferring three officers out of Palakkad following the seizure of a large
quantity of spirit and fake toddy from Anakkappara near Vadakkanchery on Sunday.
The seizure of 1,435 litres of spirit, 2,000 litres of fake toddy, and ₹11.56 lakh by the State Excise Enforcement Squad from a godown run by toddy shop licensee Soman Nair at Anakkappara had raised questions of negligence against Excise officers of Palakkad. Connivance of some Excise officials was also alleged in the massive toddy adulteration.
The State Excise Commissioner on Tuesday transferred Alathur Circle Inspector P.M. Mohammed Riyas, Alathur Range Inspector K.S. Prasobh, Palakkad Excise Intelligence and Investigation Bureau Inspector V. Anoop.
When Mr. Riyas was transferred to Ponnani, Mr. Prasobh and Mr. Anoop were transferred to Nilambur and Thripunithura respectively.
Negligence in collection of intelligence and preventing adulteration of toddy, which has the potential to cause serious disasters, was the charge slapped against the officers.
The Excise Crime Branch will conduct a detailed investigation into the case to detect if the massive adulteration had been done in connivance with any Excise officials.
Disappointment was palpable among Excise officials of Palakkad district on Tuesday. Although they agreed the failure of intelligence gathering, they said the transferred officers had become scapegoats.
Their colleagues said they were officers of high integrity and had been involved in the seizure of large quantities of narcotic drugs,
particularly ganja.
The State Enforcement Squad had swooped in on the culprits after observing their operation for a long time. The Excise officers in
Palakkad had been kept in the dark about the pre-dawn raid in a toddy godown owned by Soman Nair, who has 32 toddy shops in his name.
Spirit stored in 41 cans was seized from two places owned by Mr. Nair.
A huge quantity of spirit mixed toddy and different concoctions of fake toddy was also seized. Seven workers were arrested. Although 21 people were named in the FIR, all but seven are at large.
Those arrested were Vincent, 56, from Ettumanur; Baiju, 50, from Alathur; Chandran, 65, from Thrissur; Sasi, 46, from Kuzhalmannam; Sivasankaran, 50, from Chittur; Vasudevan, 59, from Vadakkanchery; and Parameswaran, 57, from Padur.
