Gujarat Police have arrested 13 more people in connection with the hooch tragedy in Bhavnagar that claimed 13 lives, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 27, officials said on Tuesday.
Among those arrested is a Madhya Pradesh resident who allegedly played a key role in manufacturing the spurious liquor containing methanol, a highly toxic substance.
"After thorough interrogation of the accused arrested earlier, the police's State Monitoring Cell (SMC) arrested 13 more accused on Sunday and remanded them in police custody till September 2," a police release said.
The majority of the accused are from Bhavnagar. One of them, Anand Chhandi, a resident of Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh, was brought from Ujjain to Bhavnagar and allegedly played a "very big role" in the conspiracy. Police said he was also involved in procuring chemicals used to manufacture the spurious liquor.
The toxic liquor, containing 38.59 per cent methanol and 0.94 per cent ethanol, was packed in bottles bearing the label of a popular Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) brand and supplied to bootleggers for distribution.
According to officials, 67 people consumed the liquor, following which 13 died and several others were hospitalised with serious complications.
The case came to light after three friends consumed the liquor in Vartej on the night of August 16. All three fell ill, and one of them later died. The blood sample of the first victim, Upendrasinh Gohil, tested positive for methanol.
Police said the spurious liquor was allegedly manufactured at the house of Gautam Solanki in Vartej with the help of Raees, who was arrested in Ujjain. Solanki allegedly came in contact with Raees through a common friend.
According to the FIR registered at Vartej police station on August 19, Raees and his assistant Zuber, both from Ujjain, procured raw materials from Ahmedabad and prepared the toxic liquor at Solanki's residence. They allegedly roped in Narendra Yadav, also from Madhya Pradesh, in the illegal operation. Police said Yadav died after consuming the liquor he had prepared.
The State Monitoring Cell has seized bottles containing poisonous chemicals and earlier arrested 14 people allegedly involved in the crime.
As part of the investigation, 16 SMC teams have been deployed across Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to gather evidence and trace the supply chain.
Police are investigating the source of methanol and other chemicals, the transporters involved, and those responsible for procuring and transporting the raw materials. They are also probing the source of the bottle-sealing equipment.
Teams have been sent to Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, where the raw materials are suspected to have originated. Police said the accused prima facie appeared to have been motivated by financial gain.
The accused have been booked under several provisions, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, adulteration and poisoning, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prohibition Act.
Gujarat is a 'dry' state where the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol are banned.
(With inputs from PTI)
