Chhattisgarh: Locals loot overturned liquor truck in Kabirdham

Kawardha, Aug 7 (PTI): A mini truck laden with liquor bottles overturned on a highway in Chhattisgarh’s Kabirdham district, prompting locals to flee with bottles strewn on the road beside the mangled vehicle, police said on Friday.

Videos of the incident that took place on Thursday went viral on social media, in which delighted passersby were seen looting bottles of beer and whiskey, even as police personnel chased them away.

The truck containing around 250 cartons of liquor skidded off the road and overturned near Rani Sagar village on Raipur-Jabalpur Highway, following a tyre burst, an official said.

While the truck driver sustained minor injuries, several liquor bottles broke and many boxes lay scattered on the road, he said.

The consignment approximately worth Rs 12 lakh was being transported from Raipur for a newly opened wine shop in Kukdur village of Kabirdham, the official said.

Taking advantage of the accident, passersby and locals thronged the scene to grab as many liquor bottles as they could carry, he said.

However, the looting did not last for long as the police immediately rushed to the scene and took charge of the truck and remaining consignment worth over Rs 8 lakh after chasing the crowd away, he added.

In one of the videos, a policeman is seen hitting a man holding two bottles with a stick and snatching one of them from his hand.