Lucknow restaurant serving liquor without license raided, manager among 5 held

Lucknow, Sep 17 (PTI) A restaurant in Lucknow’s Hazratganj area serving liquor without a license was raided by police and excise department, officials said on Wednesday.

Five people, including the restaurant’s manager Rakesh Kumar, were arrested during a raid in the early hours of Tuesday, they said.

The joint team seized over 30 bottles of foreign liquor, 60 bottles of beer, and around 40 open bottles of foreign liquor, the officials said.

Hazratganj SHO Vikram Singh said an FIR was filed after the restaurant manager failed to produce a valid license for selling alcohol.

During questioning, he admitted to occasionally obtaining a license but confessed to running an unlicensed operation to evade taxes, he said.

The other arrested accused have been identified as Shivam Kumar, Arvind Kumar, Shyam Singh and Sanjay Kumar, the officials said.

Police suspect that this illegal activity was a long-term practice, resulting in significant revenue loss for the government. Further investigations are underway. PTI CDN NB NB