Mumbai: Despite repeated incidents of people losing lives due to the consumption of spurious liquor, the rural and coastal areas of Bhayandar continue to be the favourite destinations for the local haath bhatti mafia (liquor brewers).
A team from Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police unearthed a liquor brewing unit which was operating amidst a dense mangrove belt located in the Morwa village area near Bhayandar. Acting on a tip-off, the police team raided the spot on Tuesday afternoon.
Apart from manufacturing equipment used to brew the illicit liquor, the team seized and destroyed multiple barrels of hooch along with ingredients including fermented jaggery wash, chemicals worth more than Rs.53,000. As it happens in most of the raids, the police team failed to find any brewer at the spot.
According to the police, the den operator who has been identified as Jaywant Bhoir who has earned notoriety was running such dens in the region and managed to flee the spot. A case under section 65-f (uses, keeps or has in his possession any materials, still, utensils, implements or apparatus for the purpose of manufacturing any intoxicant) of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1948 has been registered in this context at the Bhayandar police station.
From urea to methanol and even rotten jaggery, the notorious bootleggers have been using all sorts of material to brew illicit hooch for quick fermentation which can claim the lives of those consuming it. However, officials attached to the excise department, Thane which makes tall claims of weeding out the hooch mafia by effectively enforcing the stringent Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act continue to play blind to the illegal activities.
