UP govt orders booking bootleggers under NSA, Gangster Act
The Uttar Pradesh government Wednesday directed district administration to strictly enforce the provisions of the National Security Act and the Gangster Act against bootleggers.
In a circular, Principal Secretary (Excise) Sanjay R Bhoosreddy directed that in events of loss of human lives due to consumption of illicit and poisonous liquor, the action should be taken under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and also under the stringent NSA.
Under the NSA, the government can detain a person for as long as it wishes and the authorities need not disclose the grounds of detention.
On the other hand, a person booked under the provisions of Gangsters Act becomes part of a gang listed in police records.
It entitles the police to keep track of those booked under the Act and issue summons to them for attendance at the local police station for questioning even if no fresh case has been lodged against them.
The Act permits the police to seek remand of an accused for a maximum of 60 days as compared to a maximum 14-days' remand under normal circumstances.
A government spokesman said that cases should be effectively registered under the NSA and the gangster Act in event of loss of human lives or causing of disabilities or serious physical injuries by consumption of spurious liquor.
Bhoosreddy directed officials concerned to register cases under the NSA and the Gangster Act against those found guilty of indulging in distilling and smuggling of illicit liquor.
He also underlined the need for effective prosecution of cases through senior prosecution officers or district government advocates before special courts.
If the special court has not been constituted in any district, its establishment should be ensured immediately through coordination committee, the circular stated.
Referring to the cases of loss of human lives caused by consumption of illicit and poisonous liquor in some districts of the state, the principal secretary in some cases consumers had bought poisonous liquors from government shops.
This situation is not only sad but also regrettable, he added.
Around 20 people had died in May in Barabanki, some 30 kms from the state capital, prompting the chief minister to direct officials to check the sale of spurious liquor in the state to prevent recurrence of such tragedies.
The chief minister had ordered senior officials to find out if deaths in Barabanki were a result of a conspiracy to defame the state government.
"The officials should try to find out the cause of this incident, whether it was done just for the profit or there was a conspiracy to defame the government and create chaos," he had said.
"If there is any political interference or the accused are being protected, then also find out those protecting them," he had said.
Earlier this year, a major hooch tragedy in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and in bordering Uttarakhand that claimed around 100 lives.
After the spate of death, Adityanath had wondered if a rival political party was behind "such mischievous acts" and had promised action against those involved in the illicit liquor trade irrespective of their political association.
Adityanath had expressed fears of a "deep conspiracy behind the deaths" and said similar incidents were reported from Barabanki, Hardoi, Azamgarh and Kanpur - places where the "conspiracy" came into light.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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