THATTA, Jan 9: The district excise and taxation officer, while terming the allegations of harassment raised by some minority people, has claimed that the objective of the allegations was to save the two accused involved in narcotic trafficking last year.

In a press release issued here, Zaheer Hussain Shah, district excise and taxation officer, Thatta, said the signatory and excise inspector, Mohammed Juman Memon, did not issue any threat to Ramesh Kumar, Vishandas, Wikomal and others at the director excise office, Hyderabad, where they had arrived in connection with an inquiry on Jan 7, 2002.

The press release further said that on recovery of 360 pints of wine and one kilogramme of hashish, the Thatta excise police had challand Lekhoo Mal and Raja Rai in the local court on Oct 3, 2001, along with their car (W 2235).

It said their claim of being robbed of Rs2,32,000, a gold chain and watch was wrong, as the accused did not claim this even at the time of taking remand of them some four months back, and till date.

The case was having no political background as claimed by the minority people in their press conference and the excise official had never obstructed these people to hold any press conference against them in Thatta, the press release said.