Death toll in Punjab spurious liquor tragedy rises to 57; magisterial probe ordered, ten arrested

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Chandigarh: As many as 57 people have lost their lives so far in the Punjab spurious liquor tragedy, said officials on Saturday (August 1, 2020).

According to reports, 37 died in the Tarn Taran district, while 12 and 8 lost their lives in the Amritsar and Batala districts respectively.

As of now, over ten people have been apprehended in connection with this incident.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has also ordered a magisterial inquiry by Divisional Commissioner Jalandhar into the hooch tragedy. 

"Anyone found guilty will not be spared," said Punjab CM.

I have ordered a magisterial enquiry into suspected spurious liquor deaths in Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran. Commissioner, Jalandhar Division will conduct the enquiry and coordinate with concerned SSPs and other officers. Anyone found guilty will not be spared.

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) July 31, 2020

Earlier on Friday, the police had arrested seven bootleggers from Amritsar rural, Batala and Tarn Taran districts in over 40 raids conducted by five teams led by senior officers.

Huge quantity of spurious liquor, drums, storage cans etc were also recovered from the arrested and the same have been sent for chemical analysis to check for constituents of spurious liquor. 

DGP Punjab Police Dinkar Gupta said that there will likely be more arrests, adding that the police teams would continue to crack down on all those involved in the case to unravel the extent of the spurious liquor mafia operating in the region.

The inquiry will look into the facts and circumstances leading to incidents, as well as into any other issues connected or relevant to the incidents and the circumstances leading to it. 

It will be led by Divisional Commissioner Jalandhar, along with Joint Excise & Taxation Commissioner Punjab, and SPs Investigation of the concerned districts.

The Chief Minister has also given Commissioner Jalandhar Division the liberty to co-opt with any civil or police officer or an expert to facilitate the expeditious conduct of the enquiry.