Rajkot PI suspended after ₹70L liquor seizure

Rajkot: Rajkot police commissioner Brajesh Kumar Jha suspended Kuvadva Road police inspector Vikram Vasava after the state monitoring cell (SMC) seized Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) worth over Rs 70 lakh from the police station’s jurisdiction on June 19.

The action followed a preliminary SMC inquiry that reportedly linked the consignment to listed Saurashtra bootlegger Firoz Sandhi, raising questions about the vigilance.The SMC raid was carried out at R K Industrial Zone on the Rajkot-Ahmedabad highway, where officials recovered 26,304 bottles of IMFL valued at more than Rs 70 lakh. The total value of the seized property, including vehicles and other material, exceeds Rs 1 crore.A man identified as Pareshkumar Patel was detained for questioning. Patel allegedly told officials that he had been procuring liquor from Sandhi for about a year and that Sandhi had rented the premises for Rs 40,000 a month. He further claimed that Sandhi had informed him about an incoming liquor consignment that was to be shifted to other vehicles.Investigators said Firoz Sandhi and his brother Sultan allegedly arrived at the location in separate vehicles on the day of the raid but fled before they could be apprehended.

Following the seizure and the preliminary findings, CP Jha suspended PI Vasava for alleged negligence.An SMC officer later lodged an FIR under the Prohibition Act and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against Patel, an unidentified truck driver, the sender of the liquor consignment, Firoz Sandhi, Sultan Sandhi and another unidentified accused.Police records show that Firoz has been booked in around 33 criminal cases across Saurashtra between 2000 and 2025, including offences related to murder, assault, the Arms Act and prohibition violations. He has served jail terms at Nadiad, Mehsana, Surat and Ahmedabad.