BELAGAVI
Belagavi Excise Police on Monday seized 684 bottles containing 513 litres of Goa liquor valued at Rs 1.75 lakh after conducting a raid on a tourist bus from Andhra Pradesh.
Following the incident, luxury tourist vehicles from Goa and neighbouring states have now come under the scanner of the excise department and Karnataka police.
According to excise officials, a team was on routine vigilance rounds early Monday morning when an Andhra Pradesh-bound bus was intercepted for a check.
“The tourist AC bus was heading to Guntur in Andhra Pradesh when it reached the Karnataka excise check post near Kankumbi at around 4 am today. When it was checked, liquor bottles in boxes were found concealed beneath the seats,” Joint Excise Commissioner Dr Y Manjunath said.
Two persons, Dilipkumar (33) and Gundappa Nene (42), both from Guntur, have been taken into custody while officials are on the look out for the bus owner. The bus and the seized liquor were later taken to the excise headquarters at Belagavi.
Dy SP Chenagowda Patil, PI Manjunath Galgali, Inspector S M Pujar, B S Atigal and team carried out the raids under the directions of Jt Commissioner Dr Y Manjunath and Deputy Commissioner Jayaramegouda.
