The death toll in the illicit hooch tragedy that took place in the Ujjain district, 190 km west of Bhopal, rose to 14 on Thursday with seven more bodies recovered from certain towns in the city, leading to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to order an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the district police superintendent will suspend four policemen, police and state government statement said.
The deceased, mostly day laborers and some beggars, were found in different locations in the city in the last 36 hours since Wednesday morning. Police found a common link in most of the deaths: the consumption of ‘potali’ or ‘ginger liqueur’ as it is called in the local market. Two of the victims who died during treatment Wednesday night told police that they had bought it in the Kaharwadi area of Ujjain, according to police.
Eight of the deceased who were identified are: Shankarlal, 40, of the village of Piploda Bagla; Vijay alias Krishna, 45, from Nagda city; Babloo Yadav, 40, from Dani Gate town; Badrilal, 65, of Chhatri Chowk Sarai; Dinesh Joshi, 45, from the Ankpat area; Peer Shah, 45, from the town of Begum Bagh; and Ratan Malviya from Jharda village, all in Ujjain district, and Rakesh, a resident of Harda district.
The suspended police personnel include the Kharakuan Police Station in charge ML Meena, Deputy Inspector Niranjan Sharma, and Officers Sheikh Anwar and Nawaz Sharif for failing to take action against the sale of illicit liquor in their area, said a press release from the superintendent. officer, Ujjain Manoj Singh. .
The police registered three persons in connection with the offense under sections 328 (Causing harm by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit a crime), 304 (Guilty homicide not equal to murder), 34 ( Act carried out by several people in compliance with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 49-A (Penalty for the importation, etc. of liquor not suitable for human consumption or for altering or attempting to alter a denatured spirit preparation ) of the Madhya Pradesh Excise Law, according to police.
Confirming the recovery of 14 bodies in the last two days, Ujjain Inspector General of Police (IG) Rakesh Gupta said: “Ten of the deaths are related to illicit alcoholic beverages. We will be able to comment on the remaining deaths only after receiving the post-mortem reports. ”
He said: “During the investigation, the police found that the defendant had been producing an intoxicant called ‘potali’ using methanol (methyl alcohol) in a multi-level parking lot of the Ujjain Municipal Corporation (UMC) in the Chhatri Chowk area during the last month. They are the main defendants in the case, as all the deceased were reportedly consumed with the Potali they made. The police are trying to catch them. ”
City Police Superintendent (CSP) Rajnish Kashyap said: “Of the three registered defendants – Yunus, Sikandar and Gabbar – all residents of Ujjain, Yunus was arrested in Indore while a manhunt was launched to arrest the other two. . Likewise, in a joint campaign with the administration, more than 550 liters of illicit liquor were seized and FIRs were filed against 71 people in the district ”.
He said: “Post-mortem reports on many of the deceased received so far indicated ‘suspected toxic poisoning.’ The unidentified so far are elderly people and are said to be beggars. ”
“In a joint operation with the police, the district administration sealed a shop where a large quantity of alcohol, methanol, was found in the Chhatri Bazar area. The joint police and administration team carried out raids in more than six other places, where people were making Potali illegally, ”said Asheesh Kumar, a collector from Ujjain.
(With input from Anand Nigam in Ujjain)
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