(Above) Women activists ransack the liquor shop and (below) broken liquor bottles inside the shop. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Kendrapara, April 25: Women activists ransacked an authorised Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) retail shop on the outskirts of the town and set it on fire as part of an anti-liquor campaign in the wee hours today.

Police said the anti-liquor activists who vandalised the shop have been identified and a case has been registered against them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. However, they are yet to be arrested.

“A group of over 100 women marched towards the shop in Baruo village early on Monday morning. After breaking it open, they ransacked the entire shop and later set it ablaze. We have not made any arrests so far since the anti-liquor campaign launched by them commands enormous support from majority of the villagers. We are apprehensive of the law and order situation in the wake of any legal action,” inspector at the Kendrapara rural police station Ranjan Kumar Dey said.

Local residents believe the women put their foot down and took this extreme step in order to check the growing menace of alcoholism.

This incident would have a wider ramification and send across a note of caution to liquor traders, especially in the rural areas, a woman activist said.

“We resolved to stop the liquor trade since the male members of our families were getting addicted to alcohol. With the liquor shops just a stone’s throw away from our homes, it was all the more easy for them to procure it. Earlier, we had protested in front of the shop and near the collector’s office. When every effort failed, we decided to break the law and destroy the shop,” said Minati Das, a resident of Baruo village, who led today’s anti-liquor agitation.

The women from various self help groups who ransacked the shop had been persistently demanding the closure of the retail unit for the last one year, said sub-collector Ranjan Kumar Das.

“But the unit was operating with a valid license. We had sought permission of the higher authorities for its closure in response to the growing public resentment against it,” said Das.

Anti-liquor campaigns spearheaded by women are gaining momentum in this part of the state with unprecedented support from the local community.

The resistance movement to stop sale of both legal and illicit liquor in villages has even compelled authorities, who earlier refused to budge, to initiate action against this menace. As a result, a couple of licensed IMFL units had to shut shop while some others were prompted to relocate outside the village.

“This drive to curb alcoholism, led by women, is spreading to other parts of the district. The administration is keeping a close eye on the situation and in cases of genuine demand, they are shifting the authorised liquor shops outside the village areas,” said Akuli Charan Bhuyan, additional district magistrate of Kendrapara.