Prayagraj: With the arrest of liquor mafia Sudhakar Singh, the special task force (STF) of UP police in Lucknow is close to busting the huge network of liquor smugglers operating across the state in an organized manner.
Sudhakar Singh is a resident of Purmai Sultanpur village of Patapgarh district.
Wanted in connection with over 12 cases and carrying Rs 1 lakh cash reward on his head, Singh fell into the police net near Mahanagar area of Lucknow while he was planning to meet someone in the state capital on Tuesday afternoon.
Singh, who got a job of a traffic assistant in Railways through sports quota in 2005, was currently posted at NER, Lucknow.
Police said that the first FIR against Singh was lodged at Kunda police station in 2010 under Sections 307, 323, 325, 364, 395 and 427 of IPC, and 7 CLA. Other FIRs under various sections were registered against him in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2021.
The police of Pratapgarh, Sultanpur and Prayagraj were looking for him in connection with liquor smuggling and his parallel liquor factory in Pratapgarh.
A senior STF official told TOI that the accused was a mastermind in setting up illegal liquor factory. He used to prepare adulterated liquor of various brands. This adulterated liquor looks like liquor bottles that are sold at IMFL shops. The accused also owns seven licences of government liquor shops.
The official also added that Singh used to bring consignments from Haryana and Punjab, and later carried out adulteration of liquor in Pratapgarh district. The mafia was involved in liquor trade to earn fast bucks.
The above news was originally posted on timesofindia.indiatimes.com