Chandigarh: After the Haryana Police enforcement wing, the excise and taxation department has now started a two-way probe into the sale of spurious liquor, which has claimed 21 lives so far.
The department has conducted random samplingfrom all liquor vends and sent them for testing in Panchkula. It is also examining the seized stock of bottles, especially those collected from the vendor arrested by Yamunanangar police.
“Whether the bottles contained holograms or not, the company would be questioned and the stocks reverified. We shall start with Yamunanagar and conduct this exercise across the state,’’ said an excise and taxation officer posted in Panchkula headquarters. Some reports have been prepared and examination of more samples is on.
“We are hopeful of getting the reports latest by Thursday. As for hologram, the exercise too will be completed in a day or two,” the official added. A licensee, identified as Mahender, who had a vend in Yamunanagar, is among those arrested.
On November 8, six people, all of them migrants, died after consuming spurious liquor at Mandebri village of Yamunanagar. Ever since, reports have been pouring in and the deaths in the incident have reached 21.
Six people have died and two are being treated in private hospitals in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district after allegedly consuming spurious liquor. The victims had reportedly consumed illegally sold liquor and all experienced vomiting before dying. Some of the deceased were cremated without informing the police, making it difficult to determine the cause of death. The police are investigating the case and have registered a case of murder and violation of the Excise Act. The post-mortem examination and viscera reports will provide more information. The police are also investigating five additional deaths.
The death toll due to consumption of spurious liquor in Yamunanagar and Ambala district of Haryana has risen to 18. Of the 18 deceased, 16 died in Yamunanagar and 2 in Ambala. Four fresh deaths were reported in Yamunanagar district, and five people who fell ill after consuming the liquor are still admitted in hospitals. The police have made a total of nine arrests in connection with the spurious liquor cases.
The main suspect involved in the spurious liquor manufacturing case, which resulted in the deaths of 20 people in Yamunanagar and Ambala districts, has been captured by the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) Shahzadpur in Ambala. The suspect, known as Ankit or Mogli, was apprehended in Kala Amb and has been granted a six-day police remand for further investigation. Four other accused were previously arrested in connection with the case.
