Excise department intensifies raid against ‘Sulai Mod’ in Cachar; 22 arrested

143 (mostly tea-garden-labourers) have been declared dead due to consumption of hooch – illicit liquor popularly known as ‘Sulai Mod’ in Assam’s Golaghat and Jorhat district. There are close to 300 undergoing treatment and catastrophic scenes in Jorhat Medical College and Hospital and Golaghat Civil Hospital has alarmed the Excise department of Assam Government and the inspectors are now burning their midnight oil conducting raids against illicit liquor.

The Cachar district administration has intensified steps to conduct raids at specific locations to find people with illicit liquor trade. According to Sunil Sinha, superintendent at the Excise Department Cachar, following the orders of the Cachar Deputy Commissioner, the department has conducted eight raids in major suspected areas since February 22, 2019. These areas include Rampur in Kathal Tea Garden, Meherpur, Tapaban Nagar, Chengkhuri, Janata Bazar, Lailapur, Sadagram, Shantipur areas of Dholai constituency, Lalang Tea Garden, Jaroiltala in Borkhola constituency.

Excise Officials informed that 31 cases have been registered till February 24, 2019 and 22 persons have been arrested so far. Sinha also informed that 100 liters of illicit distilled liquor have been seized and a sizeable quantity of fermented wash (FW) have been destroyed at some places. Moreover, he informed that seven distilling apparatus was recovered from some places, the recovery list also includes 17.62 litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).

The Minister of Excise, Government of Assam, Parimal Suklabaidya was quoted by Hindustan Times, “The phenomenon of Sulai consumption is not just restricted to Assam but all of the Northeast.” Suklabaidya also informed the daily broadsheet that the department will clamp down on the network of illicit distribution and take action against excise officials after inquiry.

Too early to say if the minister is living up to his promise or if it is a case of acting under pressure as people are already demanding for the resignation of the excise minister, but, the department has managed to taste some success in the last couple of days in Cachar.