Nagpur: In a major crackdown on Nagpur’s liquor mafia, Kalamna Police have unearthed a massive liquor adulteration racket that had been thriving for nearly a decade, cheating consumers and bars by refilling premium liquor bottles with water and selling them as genuine.
Police have arrested seven accused and seized stock, vehicles, and materials worth Rs 30.38 lakh, marking one of the most significant actions against liquor adulteration in recent years.
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04Oct 2025
Those arrested have been identified as Mahendra Rambhau Bambal (43), Nikhil alias Nikku Raju Nantkar (28), Narayan alias Bunty Banduji Motharkar (35), Ibrahim alias Babbu Khan Pathan (40), Roshan Rakesh Sahu (34), Gajendra Tijuram Sahu (36), and Maniram alias Rahul Koleshwar Paswan (25).
According to investigators, the accused worked as liquor transporters and scrap dealers. After collecting consignments from warehouses, they halted at predetermined locations, where they broke bottle seals, emptied branded liquor, refilled bottles with water, and repacked them in discarded boxes. Paswan allegedly supplied the empty bottles, caps, and packaging material, some of which were sourced from Madhya Pradesh.
The spurious liquor was then sold to bar and wine shop employees at half the market price, who in turn sold it to customers at standard rates, pocketing massive illegal profits.
Sources suggest the racket had been operating unchecked for 8–10 years, possibly under the protection of an influential liquor lobby that turned a blind eye to the large-scale fraud.
The entire operation came to light after police, acting on a credible tip-off, intercepted Mahendra Bambal near Chikhli Square while delivering liquor to Sharjah Bar. Officers grew suspicious when they noticed mismatched batch numbers on the bottles. Subsequent raids exposed the full scale of the racket, leading to the seizure of four pick-up vehicles and 135 litres of adulterated liquor worth Rs 2.38 lakh.
Police believe several bar employees and liquor traders may have been hand-in-glove with the accused, and further arrests are likely as the probe deepens.
The operation was spearheaded by PI Pravin Kale and API Shashikant Musle, under the supervision of DCP Niketan Kadam.
