THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance Department uncovered additional irregularities during its ongoing inspections of beverage retail shops which continued yesterday as part of "Operation Moonlight," prompted by various complaints. Substantial issues were identified in 78 shops.

It was discovered that some shop managers had hired workers on a daily wage basis without obtaining the necessary permissions from the corporation. Among the affected districts, Ernakulam and Idukki had two problematic shops each while Kannur and Palakkad each had one.

Additionally, it came to light that in Kannur district, the shops in Thane Chowva and Thane had not undergone excise inspections for an entire year. Lightning inspections were carried out in 11 shops in Thiruvananthapuram district and 10 in Ernakulam. Furthermore, six shops in Kozhikode and five each in Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha, Malappuram and Kannur districts were scrutinized.

Vigilance Director TK Vinod Kumar announced that they would conduct further investigations into the irregularities identified yesterday and submit a report to the government. Vigilance units from all districts participated in the inspections under the leadership of Vigilance IG Harshita Attaluri.