The excise department has warned of fake branded alcohol being sold to those desperate for a drink during the lockdown, and sources in the department said plans were afoot to open liquor outlets within a week of the lockdown lifting.

Concerned over regular seizures of duplicate liquor, Jamshedpur excise assistant commissioner Manoj Kumar Jamshedpur on Tuesday warned people not to consume the kind of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL)

“We have sealed all the 135 licensed liquor shops across East Singhbhum district and not a single bottle of liquor can be taken out of these sealed shops.

“If anyone offers any liquor bottle for sale claiming it to be genuine, one should be cautious,” Kumar told The Telegraph.

He admitted that unscrupulous elements have started illegally brewing alcohol and passing them off as of popular IMFL brands.

“We as well as the police are also seizing consignments of spurious liquor either at the place where it is manufactured or on way to bootleggers. But despite knowing that all the liquor shops are closed, a section of people still tend to buy liquor by putting their lives at risk,' he said.

An official in the excise department's Jamshedpur office said sale of liquor from licensed shops was likely to start within a week after the lockdown ends on May 3.

“We had completed the procedure of holding auction of liquor shops in mid-March, but due to the lockdown the issuance and renewal of licences were held up. As soon as the lockdown gets over on May 3, the department will complete the work of issuance of licences for starting liquor sales,” said the official, requesting anonymity.

He informed that there are 135 licensed liquor shops in East Singhbhum district of which 101 are located in the steel city, and that liquor worth Rs 90 lakh is sold across the district every day on average.