The liquor vend, which was demolished on April 18 by angry residents of Gurdev Nagar while it was still under construction, was successfully set up at the same site on Malhar Road on Wednesday amid heavy police presence.

A huge contingent of police force from the Sarabha Nagar and the Division number 5 police stations stood guard as the vend owner got his workers install the vend.

The owner, Gaurav, told mediapersons that they had been granted a licence to set up the vend by the Excise department. “Following the act by residents, we approached the Excise department which in turn wrote to the District Magistrate (DM). The DM then asked the police to provide security to ensure that the vend was set up peacefully,” he said.

Earlier on April 18, the residents of Gurdev Nagar, who opposed the setting up of a liquor vend on the Malhar Road, had demolished the the tin kiosk and also razed the newly-constructed boundary wall. They also staged a dharna at the site against the administration alleging that the vend was being set up overnight by some unknown persons.

Agitated over the mushrooming of nearly half a dozen liquor vends on the same road, the residents said the spot has become a haven for miscreants and tipplers.