Notorious female hooch seller arrested

Tiruvannamalai: A notorious female hooch distiller and seller who has more than 80 such cases pending against her and a resident of Vaniyambadi was arrested in Tiruvannamalai in the early hours of Sunday.

The arrested include notorious female hooch seller Maheswari (47), her husband Srinivasan, daughter Usha, son in law Devendran and relatives Mohan and Chinnaraj. Maheswari has more than 80 hooch cases pending against her and was also detained under the Goondas act 8 times.

The issue came to the fore following residents of Vaniyambadi’s Nethaji Nagar regularly complaining about the distillers activities finally culminating in locals themselves blocking autos which came to collect and distribute hooch due to which police were forced to seize the contraband.

When pressure began mounting, Maheswari and her hooch team took to their heels and absconded. However, based on Vellore range DIG Anne Vijaya’s instructions, Tirupattur SP Dr Balakrishnan ordered the formation of 5 special teams to track her down.

Based on information that they were hiding in Tiruvannamalai, a team lead by Vaniyambadi DSP Suresh Pandian surrounded her house and arrested all six accused and also the woman who rented her house to them.

However, locals argued that it was not enough to arrest those involved in hooch distillation and distribution but also that police involved with her should also be arrested.