Kujang: Kujang police seized over 80 litres of illicit liquor and arrested five persons in two separate cases from Bagoi and Mangarajpur villages under Kujang police limits in Jagatsinghpur district, officials said on Wednesday.
The crackdown came amid heightened vigilance during ongoing opera and open-air drama competitions in the area, which were drawing large gatherings and allegedly creating an opportunity for illegal liquor trade.
Acting on specific inputs, a special team was constituted under the supervision of Tirtol Sub-Divisional Police Officer Ajay Kumar Das on the instructions of Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Ankit Kumar Verma.
In the first case, police intercepted two persons near Duadia bridge who were allegedly transporting liquor on a motorcycle and had reportedly assaulted two individuals on their way to Mangarajpur. The accused were identified as Gyanranjan Panda of Mangarajpur and Niranjan Majhi of Gandakipur. A total of 53 litres of liquor was seized from their possession, and a case was registered under relevant sections of the Excise Act.
In a separate raid near Bagoi, police apprehended three persons — Tushar Kant Swain, Prashant Pradhan and Sharat Barik — while they were allegedly attempting to sell liquor near the venue of an open-air drama event. More than 23 litres of liquor was seized in this operation, and another case was registered.
All five accused were produced before the Kujang Judicial Divisional Court on Wednesday.
Kujang IIC Shivasis Das and SI Rashmiranjan Sahu were among the officers present during a press conference held in connection with the seizures.
