Viral Video: In a surprising move, Dehradun District Magistrate Savin Bansal went undercover to inspect a liquor shop along Old Mussoorie Road after receiving multiple complaints over the issue of overcharging. In ordinary customer’s attire, Bansal’s visit uncovered the instance of price manipulation that led to an immediate action against the shop.
District Magistrate Bansal’s Undercover Visit
In a Viral Video we can see during his visit, Bansal requested a bottle of McDowell’s liquor. The salesman increased the price of the bottle to Rs 680 from the MRP marked at Rs 660. There is a variation of Rs 20. These events made the District Magistrate take his measures. The shop staff had no idea that this particular customer was the District Magistrate in disguise. This tension arose between the staff, who, prior, had no inkling that this ordinary-looked customer was the District Magistrate.
The official convoy of Bansal and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate and the Excise team were sure about the raid. Bansal handed a challan of Rs 50,000 to the shop operator for the overcharging offense. The District Magistrate also did an exhaustive audit of the stock and the shopkeeping activities, which also brought out more supporting proofs related to the price manipulation.
Complaints of Overcharging at Liquor Shops Prompt Action by District Magistrate
These had been continuous complaints at various liquor shops about overcharging, which often receded for short durations during inspection by the authorities. It is such a persistent problem that the District Magistrate was proactive about it. Bansal has reportedly taken feedback from local customers about the latter saying that they had experienced overcharging several times and that additional amounts were being charged for “if you don’t want it, buy it elsewhere.”
Such decisive steps from the district magistrate show that grievances from the consumers are being heard and price regulations are being in place with a stricter manner. Bansal ordered his team to conduct raids across the city so that this sort of unfair practices are brought under control, putting consumers under a safe scenario. It is the vigilante nature of the monitoring agency where continuous oversight is looked after not to let such exploitation thrive in retail sectors.
