Wardha: Liquor smuggler from Selu jailed under MPDA law

A man selling liquor in the Selu police station area of Wardha district has been detained under the MPDA Act and sent to the central jail in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The man has been identified as Pravin alias Sharma Shatrughna Dhaburde, 48, a resident of Taloda village in Selu taluka of Wardha district.

According to Selu police station records, a total of 27 cases have been registered against him under the Maharashtra Prohibition Act since 2017. Police said Pravin had created such fear among people in his area that victims were afraid to even file complaints against him. This had disturbed peace and order in the area and disrupted public life there.

Because of Pravin's activities, peace was being disturbed in the Selu police station area and his criminal activities showed no sign of stopping. In view of this, he was also externed from Wardha district for six months under Section 93 of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949, and Section 56(1)(a) of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951. However, this action had no effect on him, and he continued to commit crimes even after that.

In this connection, Selu police station's Assistant Police Inspector Pankaj Waghode sent a proposal for Pravin's detention under the 1981 Act (amended 2015) meant to rein in slumlords, illicit liquor distillers, drug offenders, dangerous persons, sand mafia and those indulging in black marketing of essential commodities. The proposal was sent through Wardha Superintendent of Police Saurabh Kumar Agrawal to Wardha District Magistrate and Collector Vanmathi C.

Wardha District Magistrate and Collector Vanmathi C. issued the detention order on this proposal on September 17, 2026. The order directed that Pravin alias Sharma Shatrughna Dhaburde be detained in the central jail in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Under this order, he has now been lodged in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar central jail.

Strict action under the MPDA Act will continue against those who illegally sell liquor and other dangerous persons involved in hooliganism, so that peace and order are maintained in Wardha district and festivals such as the upcoming Ganpati, Durga, Dussehra and Diwali celebrations pass off peacefully. This was indicated by Wardha District Magistrate and Collector Vanmathi C. and Wardha Superintendent of Police Saurabh Kumar Agrawal.