CHANDIGARH: The death toll in the hooch tragedy in three districts of Punjab rose to 101. According to officials, 15 more people were declared dead because of the consumption of this spurious liquor on Sunday. So far, 78 deaths have been reported in Tarn Taran, 12 in Amritsar and 11 in Batala.
According to sources, police have identified the alleged kingpin of the illicit liquor racket as Gurpal Singh of Dhotian village in Tarn Taran. He is currently in Kapurthala jail but controls the illicit liquor supply in the area. As per initial investigations, he used to smuggle Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) from Noida in Uttar Pradesh and will be brought on production warrant for further investigations.
The spurious liquor was made of either methyl alcohol or denatured spirit. It was the same nexus that distributed this liquor in the three districts. This country-made liquor was so strong that it was considered harmful even after being diluted at least ten times. The suppliers were selling five bottles of this alleged spurious liquor for Rs 650 and one bottle for Rs 200.
Deputy Commissioner of Tarn Taran Kulwant Singh said, “The last rites of some of the victims were already performed without police being informed. Some had not come forward for post mortem.”
Sources said that many families of the deceased were not coming forward to report the deaths due to social stigma.