excise policy – Artifex.News

730 held for liquor smuggling over 5 months as new excise policy takes shape

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 18:50:00 +0000

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the Delhi government was following a zero-tolerance policy towards the illegal liquor trade.

The Excise Department of the Delhi government on Sunday announced that it arrested 730 people and registered 725 FIRs over the last five months, seizing 2.20 lakh bottles of illegal liquor and 197 vehicles in a major bid to crack down on the illegal liquor trade in the Capital.

Reacting to the development, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the Delhi government was following a zero-tolerance policy towards the illegal liquor trade and was working on an effective excise policy.

“The government is working on a new excise policy aimed at strengthening public safety, ensuring responsible regulation of the liquor trade, maintaining quality and increasing government revenue,” the CM said.

In the corresponding period from April to August in the financial year 2025-26, the department had arrested 312 people, registered 315 FIRs, recovered around one lakh bottles of illegal liquor, and seized 112 vehicles.

Ms. Gupta added that the government’s priority was to ensure adequate availability of legal liquor during festivals so that Delhi residents do not face any inconvenience, while also effectively curbing the sale and smuggling of illegal liquor.

According to the department, Delhi shares geographical boundaries with neighbouring states and has around 70 entry points, both large and small.

“Enforcement activities would be stepped up further in view of the upcoming festive season in Delhi. The department aims to take strict action against those involved in the illegal liquor trade while also ensuring the availability of liquor through legal channels in the city,” a statement from the CMO said.

The sale of liquor has been a highly contentious political issue in Delhi over the past few years, following the arrest of senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders over a new liquor policy introduced by the Kejriwal government. The new policy was ultimately scrapped and the old regime was brought back.

Checks on emissions

Meanwhile, in a video statement, Ms. Gupta announced all pollution testing centres in the city will be upgraded to effectively check emissions.

Noting a technology gap, she said private vehicles use petrol pump booths while commercial ones rely on outdated certification systems. To strengthen monitoring, every centre will be equipped with cameras. New automated stations in Tehkhand and Nand Nagri will each test 72,000 commercial vehicles annually.

Arpan centres

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said that over 41 tonnes of old clothes have been collected at Delhi Metro’s 10 Arpan centres and turned into useful products. These centres help residents who struggle to store or properly dispose of old garments.

As of August 31, 3,940 people deposited 41,181 kg of clothes. Self-help groups are using the material to make items like rugs, bags, and pouches, recording total sales of ₹27,036, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.

“Our effort is to make it easy and convenient for people to donate old clothes and ensure their maximum utilisation, thereby further strengthening efforts to make Delhi cleaner, more beautiful and greener,” Ms. Gupta said.

Five centres were launched on August 3, while the remaining centres became operational on August 12 and 17.

The government plans to expand the initiative by opening 10 more centres in January 2027 at major metro stations, including INA, Rajouri Garden, and Dwarka Sector 10.

Published – September 14, 2026 12:20 am IST

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Delhi Reported A Dip In Most Crimes In 2024, Except These…

admin — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 06:11:08 +0000

New Delhi:

Delhi recorded a slight decline in crimes including murder, robbery, rape, and molestation, last year as compared to 2023, data shared by the Delhi Police said.

According to the data, a total of 504 cases of murder were reported in the national capital – down from 506 in 2023. Incidents of robbery also witnessed a decline from 1,654 to 1,510 in 2024. There were a total of 33 incidents of riots reported in Delhi – at least 10 down from last to last year.

Cases of crimes against women also witnessed a sharp decline last year.

A total of 2,076 incidents of rape were reported in Delhi as compared to the previous year’s 2,141 cases, 2,037 cases of molestation – at least 308 down from 2023, and 362 cases of eve-teasing were reported in 2024 compared to 281 in 2023, the data said.

29 incidents of dacoity were witnessed – the same as the previous year.

However, there was a sharp rise in some incidents such as fatal accidents and burglary. While a total of 1,504 fatal accidents were reported last year – as compared to 1,432 from 2023, at least 29,011 cases of burglary were witnessed – over 400 cases more from the previous year.

Also Read | How Instagram Reels Helped Solve Delhi Man’s Murder

Several incidents of gambling were reported in Delhi last year (3,556 incidents in 2024).

Apart from these, officials said that cases related to the Excise Act saw a sharp rise last year. At least 6,443 cases were reported as compared to 5,951 in 2023. This comes as many Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, were arrested in the excise policy cases.

Delhi saw a dip in most crimes in 2024.

Over 100 criminals arrested in 2024: Delhi Police

The Delhi Police arrested a total of 114 hardened criminals in 2024, including 40 parole jumpers and wanted offenders each. The other arrested criminals included 18 interim bail jumpers, nine proclaimed offenders, four carrying a reward on their head, and three non-bailable warrant evaders, officials said.

Additionally, six criminals were on the run for over 10 years, while three had evaded arrest for eight years.

“A year of tireless effort and precision, the Crime Branch adopted a multifaceted approach, combining advanced technological tools and traditional intelligence methods. With the use of technical surveillance, CDR and IPDR analysis, and informant networks, various dedicated teams traced and captured offenders who had evaded arrest for years,” Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Devesh Chandra Srivastava, said.

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Delhi Court Rejects Arvind Kejriwal’s Plea For 2 Additional Meetings With Lawyers

admin — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 15:52:09 +0000

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the excise policy.

New Delhi:

A court here on Monday rejected an application filed by jailed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking directions to the prison authorities for granting two additional meetings with his lawyers through video conferencing.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja noted that as per the plea, Kejriwal is facing around 30 litigations across the country and on the grounds of the right to a fair trial, he requires two additional meetings with his lawyers through video conferencing (VC) to discuss the cases.

“It is not in dispute that a similar application filed by the applicant (Kejriwal) seeking the same relief i.e. additional legal meetings with his lawyers was dismissed by this court vide a detailed order dated April 10, 2024,” the court said.

It said the present application disclosed no new or fresh reasons to take a view different from the earlier order.

“Counsel for applicant has failed to convince the court as to how the applicant is entitled to two additional legal meetings through VC on the same grounds which have been discussed and dealt with in the earlier order,” the court said.

It said during the arguments, Kejriwal’s counsel was asked to withdraw the application and to move a fresh application with additional or fresh grounds, if any, which the advocate refused.

“Thus, having considered the submissions made and the observations already made vide order dated April 10, 2024, I see no reason whatsoever to allow the application under consideration,” said the judge dismissing the plea.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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