Guns, tinctures, and a brave excise official’s lonely fight with Narcos North India
Synopsis
A well-oiled syndicate of producers, wholesalers and retailers operating across several districts in UP, Bihar and other northern states had exploited a loophole in the 80-year-old law to sell cardamom-laced tinctures as ‘disguised liquor’. But that is about to change.
When Rajesh Singh was posted as an excise inspector in Agra in 2019, he did not think he will become an important catalyst for a crucial amendment in India’s 80-year-old law and rules governing medicinal drugs. As the state government’s excise inspector, Singh’s job was to ensure revenue collection primarily from liquor, industrial alcohol, molasses, and other intoxicants. “During the first Covid-19 wave, somewhere in 2020, this issue came to my
- FONT SIZE
AbcSmall
AbcMedium
AbcLarge
Uh-oh! This is an exclusive story available for selected readers only.
Worry not. You’re just a step away.
