Prohibition Gone Rogue? Gujarat Police Accused of Misusing Power in Shocking Arrest of Goan Trader
Goa/Mapusa&nbsp;&mdash; What began as a decades-old prohibition law in Gujarat has now triggered outrage in Goa, after Gujarat Police allegedly stormed into the quiet town of Mapusa and arrested a local liquor store owner &mdash; without warrant, without coordination, and, critics say, without justification.
In a move that has stunned the trading community and legal observers alike, a team of Gujarat police arrested Saiesh Sawant, the proprietor of Ramesh Wines in Mapusa, late Wednesday night. Their justification? A customer in Gujarat was allegedly found with liquor that bore a sale invoice from Sawant&rsquo;s store &mdash; a store that legally operates under the Goa Excise Act in a state where alcohol is neither banned nor restricted.
The Gujarat authorities claim that Sawant was part of a supply chain that facilitated the illegal transport of liquor into their dry state, where stringent prohibition laws are in place. But Goa&rsquo;s liquor traders are calling this a blatant abuse of power.
&ldquo;Are we now to be punished for what a customer does after purchasing liquor legally from our shops?&rdquo; asked an indignant Dattaprasad Naik, President of the Goa Liquor Traders Association. &ldquo;The Gujarat Police barged into Goa without a transit warrant, ignored every legal protocol, and picked up a businessman as if he were a criminal. This is a serious violation of the Goa Excise Act.&rdquo;
According to Naik, the law is unequivocal: no police or excise officer from another state is allowed to enter licensed premises in Goa without being accompanied by local excise officials. &ldquo;This is not just an oversight. This is an invasion,&rdquo; he said.
The incident has opened up a deeper concern: can Gujarat Police, under the pretext of the Prohibition Act, arrest anyone, from any state, just because alcohol was found within Gujarat&rsquo;s borders &mdash; even if it was bought legally elsewhere?
&ldquo;If this is allowed to go unchecked,&rdquo; Naik warned, &ldquo;then traders in every state are at risk. What next? Will the Gujarat Police start arresting airport duty-free sellers because a bottle ended up in Ahmedabad?&rdquo;
The arrest of Sawant is not an isolated incident. Naik recounted another confrontation last November, when Maharashtra Police attempted to detain another Mapusa trader, Dinesh Kenaudekar, during election season after seizing liquor being brought into Maharashtra. &ldquo;We had to step in and demand a warrant then too. This pattern of intimidation and harassment cannot continue,&rdquo; Naik asserted.
Following the arrest, a delegation of the association met with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. In response, North Goa Superintendent of Police, Akshat Kaushal (IPS), reached out to his counterpart in Gujarat and updated the delegation on the case. Gujarat Police, it seems, had acted based on the confession of a known bootlegger allegedly involved in multiple such offences.
Even so, the traders remain unconvinced. A team from the association has travelled to Gujarat to provide legal aid to Sawant, underscoring the gravity of the situation.
SP Kaushal has reportedly assured traders that steps will be taken to prevent future breaches of jurisdiction. A circular is expected to be issued requiring all state police forces to coordinate with Goa&rsquo;s Excise and Police departments before taking action within state boundaries.
But the incident has already set off alarm bells: Is the Prohibition Act, intended to curb alcohol abuse in Gujarat, now being twisted into a weapon for cross-border harassment?
As traders watch anxiously, one question hangs heavy in the air &mdash; has the dry law gone too far?

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May 3, 2025 | 11:56 IST