Ahmedabad, November 13: This case clearly reflects how expats from other countries, who are engaged in building large projects in Gujarat, find it hard to relax with a nice drink in the evening after a hard day’s work. UM Kyungsup, a Korean working in a power company in Kutch, landed in a soup simply because he helped police identify Korean brands of liquor smuggled in a boiler imported from Masan Port in Korea.
Kyungsup had moved the Gujarat High Court to quash the FIR booking him for bootlegging. The Gujarat government argued that he should be “prosecuted in the interest of the nation”. The court, however, questioned police investigations and held that Kyungsup could not be responsible for a cargo that he was to receive, and quashed the FIR.
In August this year, the Kutch district police intercepted a trailer carrying a boiler shipped from Masan, to Tata’s upcoming Ultra Mega Power Plant (UMPP). Kyungsup, materials manager for Korean company Doosan Projects India, that is constructing the power plant, was to receive it in Tunda village. Police raided the trailer midway and found 1,260 bottles of liquor in the cargo. They could not decipher what was written on them.
The driver and cleaner told police that the cargo was to be delivered to Kyungsup. No sooner did he read out the Korean labels, the police booked him, the driver and cleaner for bootlegging. Kyungsup’s counsel Prakash Thakker argued that the police did not book the importer company under prohibition law, but instead booked a foreigner simply because he was to receive the cargo.
He also argued that Kyungsup had permit to drink in Gujarat, so why should he import alcohol in such a huge quantity? Justice HN Devani said, “It is difficult to believe how a local confidential witness would be aware of the presence of liquor in a boiler if it was sent in a sealed condition from Korea.” Only police witnesses were named and the seal of the boiler was found tampered with.
—Agencies