Not gold, but it's liquor crates these thieves are after

Wanting to make the most of the lockdown, some criminals have walked away with crates of liquor from the trucks parked at the Karnataka State Beverages Corporation Ltd (KSBCL)
in Seshadripuram on March 24.

The stock was not shifted to KSBCL due to the lockdown, which the thieves took advantage of. The theft prompted KSBCL officials to move the trucks to the Bagalgunte yard and beef up security.

But between March 25 and April 1, the criminals broke window glasses and grills on the building’s east side and took away 25 to 30 boxes of liquor. Officials visiting the KSBCL building on Thursday found out about the theft.

Two incidents

In the first incident, the thieves jumped in through the compound wall, held the security guard at knifepoint and stole the liquor crates, KSBCL department manager in Seshadripuram Govindaraju B M said. They left the scene by the time the police came. In the second incident, the criminals were emboldened by the absence of the CCTV cameras and broke open the windows to steal the crates.

Govardhana D, a bar owner in Yelahanka, said the excise department had laid stringent regulations on the sale of liquor following the lockdown.

Before sealing the shops, officials videoed the shelves, took stock of the MSIL (Mysore Sales International Limited) and other liquor and warned the owners that violating the restriction on trading liquor would result in a six month suspension of their licence.

Despite the lockdown, alcohol is going triple the MRP price in the black market, with customers paying the higher price for getting the half and full bottles delivered to them.

Excise sources confirmed they caught hold of the bottles and, based on the batch numbers, have found the shop that sold them.