Gujarat govt announces rules for Prohibition (Amendment) Bill 2017, announces monitoring cell, toll free number, email id

Gandhinagar: Gujarat government today announced the rules for proper implementation of the Gujarat Prohibition (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which gives more teeth to the stricter anti liquor law, passed in the state Assembly on February 22 and consented by Governor on March 18 this year.

A State Monitoring Cell has been set up for the strict implementation of the law. Any one can pass information under the act at mobile number 9978934444 to the cell through whatsapp or SMS or email at smcgujarat1@gmail.com and message through its facebook page smc gujarat. The details of the informer would be kept confidential.

A toll free number 14405 has also been started for the purpose.

Announcing the rules Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja today also claimed that owing to the strict law the cases of domestic violence, accidents and suicides by women had significantly reduced.

He said that the government has decided to take help of the social media for getting larger people corporation in implementation of the act.
The Act proposes stringent action against bootleggers, tipplers as well as officials who help culprits to escape during raids on liquor dens.

With the amended Act, those selling liquor would face up to 10 years of jail and a fine of Rs 5 lakhs. In the earlier Act, punishment for this illegal activity was just three years, the minister said.

Similarly, liquor den operators as well as those helping them would face imprisonment up to 10 years.

In another major amendment, the people who create ruckus or harass others or involve in eve teasing under inebriated state, will face a jail term up to three years, but, not less than one year. In the earlier Act, punishment for such behaviour was just one to three months of jail and a fine of Rs 200 to Rs 500.

As per the amended Act, police officials found guilty of helping bootleggers in escaping during raids would attract a punishment of seven years in jail and Rs one lakh in fine.

He also informed that the police in last five and a half months had arrested 27570 people in 26912 cases pertaining to the recovery of over 2.50 lakh liters of country made liquor while 10289 were nabbed in 8028 cases of recovery of over 28 lakh bottles of India made foreign liquor worth over 40 crores.

DeshGujarat