Chandigarh, Mar 17 (IANS): Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Friday said action has been taken against the culprits for theft of liquor during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Giving a reply to the calling attention motion moved in the Assembly regarding the investigation, he said a Special Enquiry Team (SET) under the chairmanship of then Additional Chief Secretary T.C. Gupta was constituted, which submitted its report to the government on July 30, 2020.

He said appropriate action has been recommended against the officers and employees for lapses in duty. The investigation was carried out by the state Vigilance Bureau.

He said that a committee was constituted by then Director General of Police under the chairmanship of Additional Director General of Police Kala Ramachandran. In this, irregularities and failures of the police department were investigated. On the basis of this report, departmental action was taken against 27 police personnel in 14 cases.

The Deputy Chief Minister said action was also taken by the Excise and Taxation Department, on the basis of investigation, against seven Assistant Excise and Taxation Officers, while 15 Excise Inspectors have been charge-sheeted for issuing permits and departmental proceedings against them are still under process.

Chautala also said several steps have been taken to prevent the loss of revenue due to the sale of illegal liquor and to improve the system of the department.

He said a state-of-the-art CCTV camera system has been installed in all distilleries and bottling plants in the state, as well as an integrated control room has also been set up at the headquarters.