INDORE: The death toll in the alleged Mandsaur hooch tragedy rose to10 on Tuesday, even as alarming reports came in of three deaths after a booze party in Indore city, and two men from MP’s Khargone dying in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, after consuming liquor.
It’s not known where the Khargone duo bought the liquor, but sources say police are investigating if they got it at Khandwa Naka in Indore. With hooch reports cropping up at so many places, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a statewide crackdown. The government set up a special investigation team (SIT) under ACS (home) Rajesh Rajora. ADG GP Singh and IG (railways) MS Sikarwar will be the other members of the SIT, said the order issued by home secretary D Sreenivasa Verma.
“I took cognizance of the deaths due to spurious liquor in Piplia Mandi area of Mandsaur in an emergency meeting at the secretariat. The guilty will not be spared. Laws will be framed to prevent recurrence of such incidents,” CM Chouhan tweeted.
Mandsaur assistant excise commissioner CP Sanwale was transferred to Ujjain and replaced with his counterpart from neighbouring Neemuch district. An excise sub-inspector, and the officer in charge and an SI of a police station were suspended on Saturday when the first deaths were reported.
MP govt trying to hide hooch casualties: Nath
PCC chief and former CM Kamal Nath accused the state government of trying to “hide the casualties”. “No high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident so far. No relief or financial assistance was declared for the victims of the spurious liquor tragedy. Why is the government trying to save the mafia involved in the illegal liquor trade?” Nath said. A Congress team went to Khakharia village and met the kin of the victims.
Three more suspected hooch deaths in Mandsaur took the toll to 10 on Tuesday, sending police and administrative officials scrambling to trace the source of the killer liquor.SP Siddharth Choudhary told TOI that Brijesh Gurjar, Gopal Nayak and Anil alias Lala Kaithwas died between late Monday and early Tuesday morning.
Choudhary said police were ascertaining the circumstances leading to death of four people of Malhargarh tehsil, following allegations by family members that they were killed by hooch.
While the Mandsaur administration launched a crackdown, demolishing a house of one of the accused in Khakharia village, social media erupted with reports of similar deaths in Indore. At least three persons have died and a fourth is in hospital in critical condition after consuming liquor at a bar during a party in Bangarda area of Indore.
SP Mahesh Chandra Jain confirmed that two of the deceased had consumed alcohol a day or two before their deaths. “Post-mortem suggests death due to suspected poisoning. It could be due to anything – liquor or food they consumed,” he said.
No less than murder: Shivraj
Death due to spurious liquor is no less than murder, and no mercy will be shown to those involved in the incident in Mandsaur, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday.
