Manipur police intensifies crackdown against sales of liquors

NNN | IMPHAL, Aug 4: A huge quantity of liquors were seized and destroyed on Tuesday as Manipur police launched an intensified drive against sales of liquors amid the ongoing stringent COVID-19 lockdown.

Police intensified the drive barely a day after chief minister N Biren Singh had expressed concern over the sales of liquors and people grouping and gambling in various places amid the soaring cases of locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 in Manipur.

Teams of police from Imphal West district on Tuesday conducted drives against sales of liquors during the lockdown at various places in Imphal areas. A huge quantity of liquors including both local brew and Indian Made Foreign Liquors (IMFL) were seized from Thangmeiband area. The seized items were destroyed at the spots, a police officer said. The steps were taken up as per the advice of the chief minister, the police officer further said.
The police seized a huge quantity of whisky and beers from a vendor at Thangmeiband area and destroyed them at the spot.

The same police team further raided another house in Thangmeiband area where they recovered a huge quantity of IMFL, the police source said.

A police commando team of Imphal West also conducted a drive at hotels and vendors at the Western side of Pologround where they seized a large quantity of IMFL. The items were also destroyed at the spots, the police source added.

After destroying the liquors, police officers who supervised the drives advised the owners of the liquors not to sell or allow people gathering at their places in future.
COVID-19 situation in the state is getting worse with every passing day as detection of locally transmitted cases continues across the state in the last few days.

When mass infections among the general populace were reported in Thoubal district which has now spread to both the twin districts of Imphal West and Imphal East, police have intensified drives of dispersing grouping of people even in the outskirts of the state capital where curfew is being relaxed in the morning.

Meanwhile, in the continued crackdown on lockdown violators, police across the state detained as many as 199 persons and released them after fining them a total of Rs 44,400, a press release of the state police said.

Persons detained and fined included those who were not wearing face masks at public places and not maintaining social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus in the state.