Boozers had a tough time across Chhattisgarh’s districts with a total of 3,084 persons paying a fine on charges of drinking in public place during the past three months.
The officials of Commercial Tax (Prohibition) Department informed here on Monday that the fines were slapped on boozers between April 2013 till June 30, 2013. All the offenders had been fined under the Prohibition Act besides 35 persons were sent to jail for selling illicit liquor. The maximum number of boozers were fined in Raipur district numbering 916 during the aforesaid period.
The number of persons fined on charges of drinking in public place in various districts of the State are as follows- Baloda Bazar (136), Gariaband (12), Mahasamund ( 32), Dhamtari (122), Durg (284), Balod (101), Bemetara ( 93), Rajnandgaon (349), Kabirdham (8), Bastar (59), North Bastar (Kanker) (37), Bilaspur (248), Mungeli ( 62), Janjgir-Champa (118), Korba ( 173), Raigarh (176), Jashpur (58), Surguja (64), Balrampur (12), Surajpur (10) and Koriya (6).
The district-wise number of persons arrested for selling illicit liquor were as follows- Raipur (13), Gariaband (4), Durg (3), Balod and Bilaspur (two each), Korba (4) and Surajpur (1). As per prohibition laws, the offenders for their first crime are fined in the range of Rs 1000 to Rs 5,000. If the offence is repeated, a fine ranging between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 is slapped alongwith a provision of three months’ imprisonment. Similarly, those caught with more than five litres of liquor in their possession could face imprisonment between six months to two years with a minimum fine of Rs 10,000 upto Rs 50,000. In case of a second offence, the person could face imprisonment of one to five years with a fine ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh.