Chandigarh, May 31 -- In a major crackdown on illicit liquor, the Punjab excise department seized 80,000 litres of ethanol being allegedly transported illegally in two trucks in Bathinda and arrested eight individuals.

Those arrested included four from Bathinda, two from Uttar Pradesh, and two from Nepal, and they were being interrogated by officials of the excise department and the police, said excise minister Harpal Singh Cheema.

The two trucks bearing Gujarat registration numbers, and two cars and one SUV were also seized.

The minister said the accused have been charged under various sections of the Excise Act, and Section 316 (breach of trust) and 125 (endangering human lives) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

He said the quantity o...