BHOPAL: A man allegedly linked to the Karni Sena has emerged as the prime accused in the case related to a spurious liquor racket that has killed more than 20 villagers in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district.
“Out of the 16 accused arrested so far by the Sagar district police in the two FIRs registered at separate police stations, Karni Sena’s divisional president Chandrabhan Singh alias Chandu, a resident of Tatarwara village in Sagar district, has emerged as the prime accused,” Sagar district police superintendent Anurag Sujaniya said on Wednesday.
Chandrabhan, who has been arrested by the police, was allegedly operating the spurious liquor racket in association with Barethi licensed liquor vend operator Manish Lodhi alias Yashwant Thakur.
The entire racket was allegedly linked to an inter-state bootlegger, Ravi Lakhera, whose operation had already been busted by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Lalitpur district in May 2026.
Another key player in the racket was Shivanjay Rajput, who is a relative of Chandrabhan.
“While 16 accused, including Chandrabhan, have already been arrested, 17 other accused are on the run. One of the accused, Ram Singh, who was supplying the liquor at cheap rates, was among those who died after consuming the spurious liquor,” the Sagar SP said.
According to police, the racket prepared the liquor in the agricultural fields of Chandrabhan in Tatarwara village ahead of the festival of Krishna Janmashtami and supplied it at cheaper rates through the Barethi licensed liquor vend operated by Manish Lodhi.
“After the deaths started happening, the racket’s operatives started destroying the remaining spurious liquor, but the police, through timely raids, managed to seize a significant portion of the spurious liquor,” Sujaniya said.
A reward of Rs 20,000 has been announced for information leading to the arrest of Manish Lodhi and Ravi Lakhera, while a bounty of Rs 10,000 has been announced for the arrest of the other accused who are absconding.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, who returned from abroad on Wednesday, directly rushed to Sagar district in the afternoon, where he met patients admitted to the Bundelkhand Medical College (BMC) following the hooch tragedy.
Later, speaking to journalists, the CM said, “Free hand has been given to administration and police, in dealing in the sternest manner with those behind the crime. Find out their (offenders) illegal properties/encroachments and act against them.
Prosecute the offenders under penal provisions which lead to life imprisonment and death penalty.”
The CM has also ordered a judicial probe into the incident.
The CM also instructed the police and administration to coordinate better with neighbouring districts and areas across the border in Uttar Pradesh.
“We’ll work with religious and social organizations to run de-addiction campaign,” he said.