HYDERABAD: Liquor shop owners paying mamools or bribes to excise and police officials may have been brought to light with the arrest of two excise officials, but the trend is not new.Shop owners offer up to Rs. 6.6 crore per month as bribes to excise staff to make them look the other way as they flout rules without scruples. A senior officer of the Excise department disclosed on the condition of anonymity that there are as many as 6,600 liquor shops in the state with 225 of them located in the twin cities apart from bar and restaurants. They offer approximately Rs. 6.60 crore mamools to Excise and police officials per month. “It is open secret.The recent ACB raids and arrests may not change the attitude among corrupt officers,” he said. “If I want to run the liquor business, I have to offer mamools to officials. We offer between Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000 per month to the police station and excise officials.All this keeps them quiet as shopkeepers sell liquor at more than the MRP,” said an owner of a wine shop located at Balkampet. “No one can run the business without offering bribes,” said another liquor merchant.
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