Gujarat: Eight caught for selling beer as Ayurvedic syrup

Dwarka: Eight persons were arrested in Devbhumi Dwarka in Gujarat for allegedly manufacturing and selling prohibited alcoholic beer in the guise of Ayurvedic syrup, a police official said on Thursday.

The racket was underway since 2020 and the accused had sold nearly 2 crore syrup-cum-beer bottles worth Rs 42 crore in the previous financial year alone, said Devbhumi Dwarka Superintendent of Police Nitesh Pandey.

Among those arrested was one Sunil Kakkad, who used to handle the production and marketing of the syrup, which was mainly sold over the counter in colourful bottles at paan shops in Saurashtra region, said Pandey, adding people used to buy it knowing it will give them a 'kick' just like beer.

The other seven who have been held include dealers and distributors of the syrup as well as close aides of main accused Sanjay Shah, who set up a factory in Silvassa in the neighbouring Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli three years ago to produce this drink, he said.

Sanjay Shah, former Gujarat prohibition and excise officer Mehul Dodiya, Shah's close aide Rajesh Dodke and one Pankaj Vaghela are absconding, the official informed.

"Three months ago, we had seized some Ayurvedic syrup bottles from a shop in Okha. Recently, the FSL confirmed the alcohol content in the syrup was more than the permissible limit and that the GST bills were also fake. We then lodged two different FIRs a few days ago and subsequently nabbed eight persons. Kakkad was nabbed in the past by the CBI in another case," Pandey told reporters.

Shah set up a factory in Silvassa and started manufacturing Ayurvedic syrups called 'Asavas' and 'Arishta', which are fermented mixtures containing self-generated alcohol that is less than 12 per cent of the total volume.

However, Shah's aim was to produce and sell a drink which tastes like alcoholic beer but can be sold as an Ayurvedic syrup over the counter, as per police.

As per the law, Ayurvedic mixtures which contain self-generated alcohol less than 12 per cent of the total volume can be sold by any shopkeeper without a license.

"To make the syrup taste like beer, Shah had employed a person who had worked in a brewery. They mixed malted barley and kept the alcohol level to maximum. The accused even mixed hops, a type of plant which is used by beer makers to create bitter taste," said Pandey.

The accused had started selling their bottles in Gujarat's Saurashtra region at paan shops, he said.

Former prohibition and excise official Mehul Dodiya became Shah's business partner after retirement and helped him "manage the system" as he had worked in that department, said Pandey.