Punjab Police nabs 17 more people in hooch tragedy, total 25 people arrested

Following a massive crackdown in three Hooch tragedy affected districts of Amritsar Rural, Gurdaspur, and Tarn Taran, along with several other places in and around Rajpura and Shambhu border, Punjab Police has arrested 17 more persons. The total number of arrests in the case has gone up to 25.

Punjab Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said raiding parties have also seized large quantities of homemade liquor, Lahan,  from various villages and dhabas in the region. He said the raids have exposed a massive racket in illicit liquor, extending across several districts.

The Excise & Taxation Inspectors (ETIs) who have been suspended with immediate effect are Ravi Kumar (Gurdaspur), Gurdeep Singh (Amritsar), Pukhraj from Fatehabad, and Hitesh Prabhakar from City Tarn Taran in district Tarn Taran. The Chief Minister also ordered the suspension of and inquiry against seven excise and taxation officers and inspectors, along with two DSPs and four SHOs of police in connection with the hooch tragedy, which has so far claimed 86 lives, as per an official statement of the Punjab government.

READ: Amritsar Hooch tragedy: Poisonous liquor claims lives of 41, CM orders magisterial probe

Punjab CM orders magisterial probe

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ordered a magisterial inquiry by the Divisional Commissioner, Jalandhar, into the deaths of people allegedly due to the consumption of illicit liquor. Police arrested Balwinder Kaur, a resident of Muchhal village, under Section 304 of the IPC (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), and under provisions of the Excise Act, the DGP said on Friday.

“Two more people were arrested on Saturday morning in connection with the incident. Raids are still going on,” Inspector General of Police S P S Parmar said. Five persons have been detained in Tarn Taran for questioning in this connection, the officer said.

READ: Punjab Hooch tragedy: Kejriwal demands CBI probe in sale of illicit liquor that killed 86

Twenty-one people died in Punjab's three districts allegedly after drinking spurious liquor, prompting Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to order a magisterial probe, officials said on Friday.

The deaths took place in Punjab’s Amritsar, Batala, and Tarn Taran districts since Wednesday night, an official statement said. Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta said the first five fatalities were reported from Mucchal and Tangra villages in Amritsar’s Tarsikka on July 29 night.

On Thursday evening, two more people died under suspicious circumstances at Amritsar’s Muchhal village. One person died at Sri Guru Ram Das Hospital in Amritsar after being shifted from Tangra.

READ: Punjab CM urges not to politicise Hooch Tragedy as Opposition demands his resignation

READ: Punjab hooch tragedy:CM Amarinder Singh announces Rs 2 lakhs ex-gratia for kin of deceased