Foreign liquor worth Rs 71,000 seized at Thane station, rail attendant held
State excise officials caught a railway attendant smuggling Goa-made foreign liquor off the Mangaluru Express at Thane station.
The State Excise Department seized illegal foreign liquor worth about Rs 71,560 and detained a railway attendant at Thane railway station on Tuesday, after tracking a liquor smuggling operation from another state.
The attendant, who got off the Mangaluru Express, was found carrying Goa-made foreign liquor. The operation was carried out after laying a trap on platform number 8, and the accused was given one day of excise custody after being produced in court.
The action was carried out under the guidance of State Excise Commissioner Dr Rajesh Deshmukh, Co-Commissioner Prasad Surve, Konkan Divisional Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Pawar and Thane Superintendent Pravin Tambe. The team on the spot was led by Deputy Superintendent-cum-Inspector Anand Pawar.
Inspector Anand Pawar and his team, who were patrolling for prohibition-related offences, had received prior information that a large consignment of Goa liquor was to be unloaded from the Mangaluru Express. Acting on this tip-off, the team cordoned off platform number 8 at Thane station at 12.15 pm. As soon as train number 12134 Mangaluru Express arrived at the platform, the team stopped a man who was getting off suspiciously with two large bags.
During questioning, the man identified himself as Shivam Chhanbas Mathpati and revealed that he worked as an attendant with the railways. He was found to be misusing his position and uniform, meant for serving passengers, to illegally transport liquor in his bags. When his bags were checked, they were found to contain bottles of expensive, well-known foreign liquor brands permitted for sale only in Goa.
A case has been registered against the accused, Shivam Mathpati, under stringent prohibition provisions, and he was produced in court, where he was remanded to one day of custody. Police are now trying to establish exactly where in Goa the liquor was loaded and to whom it was to be sold in Thane. The matter is also being examined closely to check whether a larger interstate racket is active.
