Cops turn blind eye on AP arrack sold in State

TIRUPATTUR: Arrack sellers in the State are feeling the heat of continuous police raids but the same stuff brought from across the border (Andhra Pradesh) is doing brisk business near Vaniyambadi in Tirupattur district, sources revealed.

Minibus services operating from Vaniyambadi to Velathigamanipenda village which is 20km apart and close to Andhra Pradesh border are used by the tipplers to gain access to illicit liquor. Sources reveal that arrack sellers purchase sachets (one sachet free for four) – with each costing Rs 50. The stuff is brought to Anna Nagar which lies between both states and though there are check posts at Velathigamanipenda and Anna Nagar, there has been no action to stop this menace.

“So open is the trade that tipplers from Vaniyambadi travel to Velathigamanipenda and then on to Anna Nagar by minibus to satiate their craving for liquor,” an informed source revealed. Seeking anonymity, the source added that “the minibus will wait for up to 30 minutes to bring back the tipplers who do their drinking inside the bushes and shrubs by the roadside. They are then dropped off in their respective villages.”

That the area has been a hotbed for such illegal activity can be gauged from the fact that a couple of years ago these columns highlighted how two-wheelers were used for such smuggling and when police got around to curtailing this, those involved switched over to bigger vehicles.

“Both the check posts are a waste as they do nothing to prevent such activity,” the source said and added that the most affected were women passengers, who were furious at the bus waiting for tipplers to return as they felt that drunkards could create problems for them.

Meanwhile, discreet inquiries revealed that the Vaniyambadi prohibition police took refuge in stating that a new inspector had joined only a couple of days ago and hence knew nothing of local arrack sales that happens from across the border.

When a local cop, who knew about the goings on, was asked, he said he was ill for the last few days and knew nothing of what appeared on social media. However, police raided Goripallam and Devarajuram villages on the Madakadappa hill and destroyed 500 litres fermented wash and 200 litres of arrack on Saturday and are on the lookout for one person Tirupathi who is absconding.