Assam: Politician arrested for illegally stocking foreign liquor in Hailakandi

In a shocking turn of events, an influential political leader in Hailakandi, Dilip Bhowmik, was arrested by the Hailakandi Excise Department on charges of illegally stocking foreign liquor. The raid was conducted on April 7 at Ainakhal Tinali area of the district, and 45 cartoons of foreign liquor were seized from a godown.

The excise department conducted a drive at Aynakhal Tinali in Hailakandi district on April 7 morning. In this operation 45 cartoons of foreign liquor were recovered from a warehouse at Anjali Rice Mill local. The excise department conducted a probe and found that the liquor belonged to a shop called SN Wine Shop.

The department later seized the liquor and brought it to the department office in Hailakandi. SN Wine Shop owner Dilip Bhowmik was also called to the office for questioning. Shockingly, Bhowmik is not only a politician in a red house in Hailakandi but also the secretary of the Hailakandi district handloom and weaving industry cooperative society limited.

Bhowmik, who is known to be politically close to Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, also runs two foreign liquor vends in the district, which are named after him and his brother. He has also been accused of smuggling foreign liquor to Mizoram due to his political influence.

After interrogation, Bhowmik was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody for one week. This incident has sent shockwaves throughout the district, and many are calling for strict action to be taken against the illegal trade of foreign liquor in the area. 

Earlier on February 28, Hailakandi police had seized 300 grams of suspected heroin and arrested three persons in a raid conducted in Dhaleswari River. The incident took place on February 27 when the police conducted the raid on the Assam-Mizoram bordering Dhaleswari ferry ghat under Ramnathpur police station.

The police seized 42 containers from a boat during the operation and found sharp weapons and cash amounting to Rupees 1 lakh nine hundred. The arrested persons have been identified as Monir Uddin Laskar, Alta Hussain Tapadar, and Ahad Uddin Laskar.

According to sources, the police had been tracking the trio's movements for some time and finally caught them in the act. The seized heroin is said to have a street value of several lakhs of rupees.