Agro-spirits firm files police complaint after distillery attack

KOLKATA: IFB Agro Industries, one of the leaders in India Made Foreign Liquor ( IMFL ) and country spirits in Bengal, has sought intervention of chief minister Mamata Banerjee following an alleged attack on one of its distilleries in South 24 Parganas.

A group of hooligans allegedly attacked its distillery on June 25.

In a filing to stock exchanges (BSE and NSE), the company that deals in marine products and spirits said that its distillery at Noorpur was attacked on June 25 around 7.40am by a group of more than 50 armed goons.

“These unidentified hooligans, armed with various types of weapons, forcibly entered the factory, beat up the security guards and practically held our employees/workers on duty as hostages. They also damaged the CCTV cameras, computers, medical room etc. inside the factory,” the company said in the filing.

It also added that the distillery was asked to shut down and all employees and workers were asked to vacate the factory at gun-point by 12 noon. “Necessary complaint was made to local police station but they seemed helpless. The distillery has been closed since then. We have sought help from the chief minister of West Bengal and also from finance, commerce and industry minister of the state of West Bengal,” it said in the filing.

SP of Diamond Harbour police district, Bholanath Pandey, said that the company management had filed a complaint and on the basis of that, an inquiry has been started. The IC of Ramnagar PS is doing the investigation.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar urged the state home secretary to probe the matter, adding that he will seek an update from the Bengal government on this.

According to the firm, it’s waiting for better environment before the plant can be re-opened. But, it has also added that its country spirit bottling unit at Dankuni was reopened by the order of excise commissioner, on the same day. Incidentally, IFB has bottling plants and distilleries in Burdwan, Hooghly, Kolkata, Murshidabad, north Bengal, Purulia and South 24 Parganas. It is also one of the producers of extra neutral alcohol in Bengal along with Globus Spirits.