Tax evaders turning violent

Have attacked excise and police officials on several occasions
Patiala, April 10
The law enforcing agencies have failed to curb the growing terror of the tax evading mafia, which has been operating in Punjab from past many years, causing revenue loss worth hundreds of crores per year. The morale of mafia men is so high that they are not even afraid of attacking excise and police officials on duty.
In recent incidents, mafia's henchmen not only attacked policemen attached with excise officials on duty, but also escaped with goods from the spot. Sources said that involvement of certain officers with tax evaders had come to light in the past, but the government had failed to initiate any action against them.
On April 7, an Excise Department team headed by ETO Bhupinder Pal Singh Bhatia had set up a naka on Tepla road in Banur and stopped a truck for checking its documents. "Instead of showing the documents pertaining to the loaded goods, Gogi Sood, Ishwar Singh and a dozen others sitting inside the truck attacked the excise team, including constable Balwinder Singh. The accused escaped from the spot and threatened the government officials of dire consequences," said the FIR registered at the Banur police station.
In another incident, an FIR was lodged at the Kherhi Gandian police station where smugglers attacked two policemen on duty and snatched documents pertaining to a truck that was impounded by ETO Surjit Singh Mansahia. "The smugglers later came in a car and on a motorcycle and attacked the excise team with rods and took away the truck," said the FIR.
Sources in the Excise Department said that due to involvement of certain officers, the Excise Department and the police had failed to end this organised crime that accounts for over Rs 600 crore loss every year to the state exchequer. "We are always under threat as these henchmen come in groups and are not even afraid of firing at us," said an official.
During a chase recently, mafia henchmen attacked a police team headed by a commandant level officer. "After the crossfire, the police team was shocked to find that the henchmen were carrying sophisticated weapons and were not afraid of firing at the police party. Interestingly, when the commandant tried to fire a shot at the smugglers, his service weapon misfired," claimed a policeman earlier attached with the excise wing.
Despite several meetings between officers of the excise department and the police, the mafia men managed to escape the law due to their high connections. "These men are in touch with officials and usually get prior information about nakas and if caught they are not afraid of attacking," said a senior excise officer.