PANAJI
Less than a week after a major seizure of illegal liquor worth around Rs 2.88 crore at the Patradevi check post, the Excise Department has transferred Sub-Inspector Deu Raut, who led the raid.
However, official sources told The Goan that Raut’s transfer was not linked to the May 6 seizure, but to a different incident involving a suspected lapse in vigilance.
The issue came to light when Maharashtra excise officials caught a Maharashtra-registered truck allegedly smuggling liquor from Goa, valued at about Rs 48 lakh.
“The fact that this truck managed to evade the Goa excise team stationed at Patradevi check post raised internal concerns. This led to Raut’s removal from his current post,” the source said.
Department officials, however, described it as a “routine transfer.”
Sources added that although Raut has been shifted from his current role, he has been assigned another check post at Patradevi itself.
The May 6 raid, first reported exclusively by The Goan on Sunday, May 11, led to the seizure of nearly 700 cases of foreign-made liquor smuggled into Goa from Haryana.
The truck driver, Ranjit Paswan from Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh, allegedly claimed the consignment was meant for the Customs. But the liquor was undocumented and had no permits or duty-paid labels.
An inquiry found that the liquor was being sent to a private warehouse in Pilerne, owned by a Haryana-based company that had transported the stock.
Raut’s team seized the liquor in the presence of the Enforcement Team and later raided the warehouse.
A show cause notice has been issued to the company.
