CHANDIGARH: Three people have died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor at Basti Jodhewal in Ludhiana, just days after the hooch tragedy in Amritsar in which 27 people lost their lives.
Confirming the deaths, Ludhiana police commissioner Swapan Sharma said, "Prima facie, four men were together last night, of which three who had consumed liquor have died. Autopsy reports are awaited to know the cause of death. A case has been registered against unidentified persons at Basti Jodhewal Police Station and investigations are going on."
Sources said that three labourers Rinku (40), Debi (27) and Mangoo Rai (32) consumed liquor at a vacant plot along Noorwala Road on Wednesday night and shortly after, they lost consciousness and began frothing at the mouth. They were rushed to the civil hospital, where doctors declared them dead.
A police officer said that some samples have been collected from the liquor vend of the area.
Dr Harpreet Singh, senior medical officer of Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, said the police on Wednesday brought three bodies. "The exact cause of death will be known when we get the report of the chemical examiner," he said.
Earlier this month, 27 people lost their lives in Amritsar after consuming spurious liquor. Most of the victims were daily wagers.
State Congress president and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring condemned the Punjab government’s failure to prevent the production and supply of spurious liquor in the state.
He said it was more shocking because the victims had purchased the liquor reportedly from a government approved vend. Warring said that the manufacturers of spurious liquor were cocking a snook at the government, as they had no fear of the law.
There cannot be a worse fact check on the government’s so-called 'war on drugs', he said. "This government instead of claiming victory over drugs, should hang its head in shame and apologise to the people of Punjab for failing to rein in the spurious liquor smugglers," he added.
Punjab BJP spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal said three young lives were lost after consuming suspected toxic liquor in Ludhiana, yet the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government is silent.
"While mothers are crying and families are shattered, the Punjab government continues its PR drama of a so-called “War Against Drugs” — a war that exists only on paper. On the ground, the drug and liquor mafia are thriving like never before, fearless and untouched," he said.
Baliawal questioned, "Is this the “Rangla Punjab” that Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann promised? Or is this the new reality — where funeral shrouds are replacing dreams, and youth are buried before they can even live?"
"What’s worse, AAP leaders including Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are right now camped in Ludhiana for bypoll campaigning — yet they have turned a blind eye to these tragic deaths. Their silence is not just shameful, it is criminal," he alleged.