Amritsar hooch tragedy: 17 dead, kingpin among 9 held in Majitha
Four officials, including ETO and DSP, placed under suspension for negligence; most victims daily-wagers from Bhangali, Patalpuri, Marari Kalan and Therewal villages of Majitha sub division.
At least 17 people have died and six are hospitalised in Majitha sub division of Punjab’s Amritsar district after consuming spurious liquor, leading to the arrest of nine accused and the suspension of four officials, including the local excise and taxation officer (ETO) and deputy superintendent of police, on Tuesday.
The deaths were reported in Bhangali, Patalpuri, Marari Kalan and Therewal villages of the sub division, officials said, adding that a police probe revealed that methanol was procured in bulk online to prepare the hooch.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said those responsible for the deaths of innocent people in the villages in Majitha would not be spared. “These are not deaths, these are murders,” he posted on X.
Mann met families of the victims at Marari Kalan and announced ₹10 lakh to the kin of the deceased besides free education to their children. Those hospitalised will get ₹2 lakh each, he said.
Two FIRs have been registered and main suppliers — Prabhjit Singh and Sahib Singh — have been arrested from Rajasansi. Seven other accused, who bought liquor from the suppliers and distributed to the villages, have also been arrested.
Taking swift action, state finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema placed Majitha sub division excise and taxation officer (ETO) and inspector with immediate effect for negligence.
Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav placed Majitha deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Amolak Singh and Majitha police station house officer (SHO) Avtar Singh under suspension. Departmental inquiries have been initiated against them. “Nine persons, including the kingpin of the racket and several local distributors, have been arrested in connection with the illicit liquor trade. Methanol, after being procured online, was used for spurious liquor manufacture. Investigation is underway to uncover the entire modus operandi and to bring all involved to justice,” DGP Yadav posted on X.
Third major hooch tragedy in five years
This is the third major hooch tragedy in Punjab over the past five years. In July and August 2020, at least 130 people, most of them daily-wagers, had died after consuming spurious liquor in the three border districts of Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Gurdaspur. Around 80 deaths were reported in Tarn Taran district alone.
In March 2024, 20 people, all of them daily-wage labourers, had died in an illicit liquor tragedy in Sangrur, chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s home district, again exposing the easy availability of toxic alcohol in villages through a well-organised network, puncturing the Punjab government’s claims of clamping down on the mafia.
Four victims in hospital critical
Amritsar deputy commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said that most of the victims hospitalized since Monday were daily-wagers.
The condition of four of them admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital has deteriorated, hospital authorities said on Tuesday.
Swarnjeet Dhawan, senior medical officer (SMO) of Civil Hospital, Amritsar, said that the authorities were waiting to conduct a post-mortem of the deceased.
Police received information about the deaths on Monday night. “We have learnt that all bought the liquor from a single source on Sunday evening. Some of them died on Monday morning, and locals cremated them without informing the police. Some people hid the fact and said the victims died of heart attack. We received information about the deaths late on Monday,” a local police official said.
Deputy inspector general of police (Border Range) Satinder Singh said seven people, including the main accused, have been arrested and a probe was underway. Five of the seven arrested have been identified as Prabhjit Singh, the main accused, Kulbir Singh, Sahib Singh, Gurjant Singh and Ninder Kaur, police said.
Sawhney, along with Satinder Singh and Jalandhar Rural Police senior superintendent of police Maninder Singh visited the affected villages and met the families of the victims. “We deputed medical teams as soon as we got information about it (hooch tragedy). Our teams are visiting door to door. Even though those who consumed it are not symptomatic, we are insisting that they be admitted in the hospital for medical checkup,” the DC told reporters in Amritsar.
She said the victims had consumed the spurious liquor either on Sunday or Monday and started vomiting.
SSP Satinder Singh said the main accused, Prabhjit Singh, had got supplies of 50 litres of methanol that he diluted and sold to people in two-litre packets. “We are tracing and seizing each and every packet,” he said.
The grilling of the main accused revealed that Sahib Singh ordered methanol online and then distributed it, the police said, adding a case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Excise Act.
Anti-addiction drive ‘political theatre’: Bittu
Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu slammed chief minister Bhagwant Mann over the hooch tragedy.
Taking to X, Bittu alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government’s Yudh Nasheyan De Virudh (anti-drug) campaign was just a “political theatre”. “Families shattered by spurious liquor, while the @BhagwantManngovernment remains in deep slumber. Their so-called ‘Yudh Nasheyan De Virudh’ is nothing but political theatre. When the chief minister himself has a history with alcohol, how can the fight against addiction ever be sincere?” the post read.
“The liquor mafia rules, people are dying, and the Mann government is busy in self-indulgence. Punjab doesn’t need slogans anymore -- it needs action. This is no longer about politics, it’s about lives,” the post further read.
