86 people lost their lives in the Punjab hooch tragedy. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh warned strict action against anyone found involved in the case. Already Twenty-five people have been arrested so far. 7 excise and 6 police officials are suspended.
This case is the consequence of the Congress-led government’s patronage to its leaders, ministers and MLAs for allegedly carrying out illegal liquor trade, Shiromani Akali Dal’s Sukhbir Singh Badal. They demand resignation of Amarinder Singh on Saturday. Death count sharply increased within the day as 48 more people died.
Mr. Badal said that this tragedy is the natural consequence of the patronage given to Congress leaders, including ministers and MLAs and all of them involved in this should be arrested. He demanded that CM should immediately step down.
He said the magisterial probe ordered by the Chief Minister must be scrapped and demanded an independent probe by a Supreme Court judge into the incident.
In response, the Chief Minister asked Badal not to “politicise the tragedy”, saying such cases had happened under the Akali Dal-BJP regime too, listing similar tragedies in 2012 and 2016 in Gurdaspur and Batala.
Several lives were lost in those cases too, the Chief Minister added no FIR was registered during the Batala incident, none were arrested. From Tarn Taran district 63 deaths reported, 11 in Gurdaspur’s Batala, 12 in Amritsar.
First deaths were reported from Mucchal village of Amritsar, on Wednesday evening. Consistent official figures came in by Friday night that 38 people. But there were 48 more deaths reported by Saturday night.
Officials in Chandigarh weren’t ready to say the percentage people who were admitted in the hospitals after consuming illegally made country liquor. Several raids were conducted by police to catch the accused.
After eight arrests on Friday, they caught 17 more people in over 100 raids within the three districts and a number of other places on Saturday.
From Patiala, Rajpura, Police seized ‘lahan’ from various villages and “dhabas” or roadside eateries. Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said, that the raids have exposed a huge liquor racket, extending across several districts.
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