Two restaurants serving alcohol without licence raided; 2 held

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Excise department, during a special drive, raided two restaurants at separate locations in the City for serving alcohol without a valid liquor licence, seized 22.5 litres of liquor, and arrested the owners, excise officials said Monday. Excise officials raided Hunger Hacker near Pandra and Mawa Restaurant in the Patia area, seizing 7.5 litres of liquor and 15 litres of beer, respectively. The owners—Mohammad Sobani Khan of Hunger Hacker and Kishor Chandra Rout of Mawa Restaurant—were arrested and later produced before a court. According to Bhubaneswar Excise DSP Raj Sekhar Swain, the department received a tipoff about restaurants in the City serving alcohol without a valid liquor licence. “Our team raided the restaurants and found them serving liquor without a valid licence. We seized the liquor and forwarded the owners to court after their arrest,” said Bhubaneswar Excise DSP Raj Sekhar Swain. He added that the crackdown is part of a special drive to curb illegal circulation of alcohol in the City and warned of stringent action against violators, adding that such raids will continue.