Ahmedabad: A critical link to the bootlegging network in Gujarat was revealed on Monday when three women - Kamala, Kanta and Lata - were arrested by the Ahmedabad police. The police claim they were part of the group that distributed the killer hooch.
"Distributors roped in these women as sub-distributors. The women would then create small hooch consignments, of 20 to 25 litres each, and distribute it around the city," said S S Khandwawala, Director General of Police, Gujarat.
Gujarat Police have arrested 300 bootleggers across the state. Out of them, 40 are women. Most of the accused belong to the Chhara community -- a criminal tribe which is very poor and very backward.
Sources say their women are used as carriers and distributors because their clothes can hide consignments and women are less suspect than men.
"The women bootleggers are known to be doing this and even in the past we have registered PASA cases against them," Khandwawala said.
In a state where women rights groups have been fighting for better prohibition laws, on the side of the socio-economic spectrum many women are feeding into the bootlegging industry for a living.