Goa-Maha-Guj illegal liquor connection originating at Canacona exposed before Gujarat court

CANACONA: The lid over the inter-State liquor smuggling racket involving Loliem-Canacona resident Ligorio Desouza was blown when Gujarat police submitted to the Additional District and Sessions Judge at Bhachau, Kachchh, that he was sole supplier of huge quantity of foreign liquor being exported to the dry State.

The findings of the Gujarat court Judge P T Patel, while rejecting anticipatory bail application of Ligorio Desouza, have revealed the connection between both the States in illegally supplying the liquor.

Desouza was named by the accused, who were found to be illegally carrying liquor amounting to Rs 45.70 lakh at Saamkhiyali National Highway in Gujarat. Two persons including driver Anil Maruti Tarde and Ramchandra Maruti Tarde, both residents of Bamdoli, Satara, Maharashtra, were arrested and truck bearing registration number MH 11 AL 3714 was seized near Navjeevan Hotel on the highway.

The investigation in the matter had revealed that the racket runs across three States – Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat and Ligorio Desouza was the supplier of the illegal liquor. Gujarat Police had booked De Souza under stringent Sections 65(a), 65(e), 81, 83, 98(2) and 116-b of Prohibition Act.

In his anticipatory bail petition, the lawyer representing Desouza took the defence that he is not a resident Gujarat State and the accused is not at all involved in the case and merely on the statement of the co-accused, he is suspect of his arrest and that is why the anticipatory bail application is filed.

It was submitted before the court that the accused is doing business and earning his livelihood.

 It was further submitted he is also a supplier of liquor in Goa and he is possessing licence of the Department of Excise, Government of Goa and he is a licence holder in dealing with the liquor. So, it is requested to grant anticipatory bail.

Exposing the entire racket, the Special Public Prosecutor representing Gujarat government submitted that the accused is involved in the matter.

Desouza is the sole supplier of the huge quantity of the foreign liquor to the State.

“Earlier also he is facing the same types of allegations in other complaints also and looking at the gravity of the offence and role of the offence, it is requested to reject the anticipatory bail of the applicant-accused,” he submitted.

The Court in its order has said that the Investigating Officer of the agency has visited Goa and also investigated the role of applicant-accused.

“From the affidavit filed by the IO, at this stage, it cannot be accepted that the applicant- accused is falsely implicated in the case,” the Court said.

“Looking at the affidavit filed by the agency and looking at the investigation carried out by the investigating agency, it appears that for the investigation, the applicant-accused is required to be carried out and law must take its own course. It is also important to note as per the affidavit the applicant- accused is also facing another complaint in the Adesar Police Station being CR No.142/2022 for the commission of the same offence,” the Court said.

The Court said that “looking to the overall facts and circumstances of the present anticipatory bail application, looking to the criminal past antecedents of the applicant- accused and looking to the huge quantity of foreign liquor and also looking to the allegation of commission of offence under Sections 467, 468 and 469 of IPC, I do not find it fit to exercise the discretion for the grant of anticipatory bail to the applicant-accused.”