Public Hearing Over Ruby Wine Shop Turns Heated: Locals Warn of Road Blockade if Demands Not Met by 5 July

The long-brewing tension over the Ruby Wine Shop on Ashram Road in Silchar reached a flashpoint on Tuesday (July 1), as over 5,000 residents gathered for a public hearing with the Excise Department, demanding the immediate relocation of the controversial liquor outlet. Locals have warned that if the issue is not resolved by 5 July, they will launch a democratic agitation through a road blockade.

The hearing, held at the Kirtan Committee Ground, was attended by officials from the Excise Department — Deputy Superintendent Sujit Dutta, Deputy Inspector Arijit Dey, and P.L. Bhaipe — along with prominent local voices including Sachindra Das, Subir Chandra Das, Anjan Choudhury, Ananta Das, Girindra Das, Nishi Kanta Sarkar, Rakhal Das, Santosh Das, Rajkumar Das, Ratan Das, Kamal Das, Swapan Das, Aravind Das, and others.

The controversy surrounding the Ruby Wine Shop isn’t new. According to residents, the demand for relocation has been ongoing since 2017. The locals claimed that on June 20 this year, a memorandum was submitted to the District Commissioner of Cachar, with copies forwarded to Minister Kaushik Rai, the local MLA, Senior Superintendent of Police, and the Excise Department. “Minister Kaushik Rai had even annotated the memorandum, instructing ‘Take necessary step at the earliest for public interest’,” one of the community leaders stated during the hearing.

The Excise officials reportedly assured the public that the matter is being considered seriously and that the relocation would happen. However, locals have insisted that their 15-day ultimatum to the district administration — ending on July 5 — must be honoured. If not, they warned of taking to the streets in protest.

But amid the public outcry, important questions remain unanswered. While the Ruby Wine Shop is under fire for allegedly being a source of easy access to alcohol and a bad influence on the youth and population spanning over 20,000 people, it is far from being the only wine shop in Silchar. Critics have pointed out that several other alcohol-selling establishments, including restaurants operating without valid bar licenses along the Mahasadak (National Highway towards Rongpur), continue unchecked. They ask: Will relocating one wine shop actually curb alcoholism in the area? And why is the Excise Department silent on illegal liquor sales around the Mahasadak, which is very unsafe for vehicles driving there?

The plot thickens with the case of a violent assault on the owner of Ruby Wine Shop, Sukanta Kar. On May 26, 2024, Kar was brutally attacked by Sujit Das Choudhury, alias Suranjit — an infamous leader and alleged land mafia figure in the Ashram Road area. Choudhury, reportedly a self-styled leader of the Kaibrata Samaj and an influential political figure, assaulted Kar and his staff after being denied alcohol on credit. Armed with rods, glass bottles, and other weapons, Choudhury and three of his associates vandalised the wine shop and left Kar seriously injured.

Despite multiple FIRs and appeals from civil society groups, Cachar Police failed to arrest Choudhury. Although the Gauhati High Court rejected his bail plea on June 29, 2024, he has continued to evade arrest, allegedly shielded by his political connections. When he was confronted, back then, Choudhury claimed that the attack was not over credit denial but due to his concern that the wine shop was spoiling local youths. Still, many are asking — Is this form of vigilantism ever justified, even if the intention was to protest alcohol abuse?

As the July 5 deadline approaches, the Ruby Wine Shop issue has become more than a matter of public health — it now symbolises a larger tangled web of community concern in the district, administrative inaction, political interference, and questionable law enforcement. Whether the government will take concrete steps or the locals will go ahead with their threatened road blockade remains to be seen.