Jaipur: City police Saturday detained a liquor salesman and issued notices to several shops for allegedly selling alcohol after the 8 pm deadline, as enforcement teams stepped up action.Police said the salesman was caught during night patrolling while attempting to sell liquor beyond permitted hours. Notices were also served on liquor outlets found facilitating or abetting post-deadline sales.
Officials said vendors were adopting shifting tactics to evade checks, prompting police to deploy plain-clothes constables for decoy purchases and conduct early-morning reconnaissance to identify storage points, delivery routes and patterns used to supply liquor after closing time.A police officer said inputs gathered during the day were used to mount targeted checks late at night, when violations were most likely.Police said some vendors stored liquor in nearby houses or vehicles, while others used intermediaries to deliver bottles away from shopfronts to avoid detection.Sources said police headquarters directed that any illegal sale detected within a station’s jurisdiction would invite direct accountability of local officers. The drive followed internal assessments that flagged widespread flouting of the 8pm restriction. Police said the objective was also to disrupt informal networks enabling after-hours liquor sales.
