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Sangrur hooch tragedy: 2 more accused held, Punjab CM Mann assures all help to victim’s kin
With this a total of 10 people have been arrested in this case, deputy inspector general (Patiala Range) Harcharan Singh Bhullar said while talking to mediapersons.
Two more people were arrested in connection with the Sangrur hooch tragedy that has claimed 20 lives to date, the Punjab police said on Sunday.
With this a total of 10 people have been arrested in this case, deputy inspector general (Patiala Range) Harcharan Singh Bhullar said while talking to mediapersons.
The two accused arrested on Sunday were identified as Mangal Singh, a resident of Ravidaspura Tibbi in Sunam and Veeru Saini, a resident of Sunam, the police said. Of the eight arrested earlier, include the two masterminds — Gurlal Singh of Ubhawal village in Sangrur and Harmanpreet Singh of Taipur village in Patiala.
The other arrested persons arrested are Manpreet Singh alias Mani and Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukhi, both residents of Gujjran village in Dirba; Soma Kaur, Rahul alias Sanju and Pardeep Singh alias Babi, all residents of Chauwas in Cheema; Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh of Rogla village.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday met the kin of victims at the Gujran village in the Sangrur district and assured them of all possible government help.
“We have registered a case under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the 10 accused because serving poison and killing people is a murder. We are also investigating whether this gang of making spurious liquor is active in other districts or not,” Mann said, adding that being the head of the state, he would take all the responsibility for the rehabilitation of the kin of the victims.
A well organised racket: Cops
As per police sources, the initial probe points to accused Gurlal alias Gifty, who bought a total of 17 boxes of spurious liquor from Harmanpreet.
Gurlal came in contact with Harmanpreet when both were lodged in Sangrur jail in 2023.
It was during their stay inside the jail Gurlal motivated Harmanpreet into the trade of illicit liquor, a senior police officer, privy to the ongoing investigation, said on the condition of anonymity.
“As per probe, Gurlal after securing the consignment distributed it to his associates on March 18, a day before the incident. Within hours, the associates of Gurlal distributed the spurious liquor to different villages of Sunam and Dirba. On March 19, many of the victims consumed it and started falling ill,” the officer added.
Manpreet Singh and Sukhwinder, both under arrest, sold spurious liquor to the residents of Gujjran village. Similarly, Soma Kaur distributed boxes to an accused Veeru Saini of Sunam and four boxes to the residents of Jakhepal. Soma is a resident of Jakhepal and has been in the business of the sale of illicit liquor for long,” the official said.
Veeru Saini, who was arrested on Sunday, further distributed the spurious liquor to Mangal Ram of Ravidaspur Tibbi, who ultimately sold it to the villagers. Ravidaspur Tibbi alone has reported 10 deaths to date.
Patiala Range DIG Bhullar said that all 17 boxes have been accounted for. “Some of the spurious liquor has been destroyed by the accused while the rest was destroyed by villagers, who had purchased it. The remaining bottles have been seized by the police,” Bhullar said.
Bhullar said that the SIT would also re-examine the similar cases registered in the past in this region. “We will also check whether accused in similar cases – who were out on bail – are again in the business of the sale of illicit liquor or not. The cops will look into similar cases in the past thoroughly,” he added.
The police have already registered three FIRs at Dirba, City Sunam and Cheema police stations under relevant sections, including 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and the Excise Act.
4 discharged, 21 undergoing treatment
There were no deaths reported on Sunday, even as those undergoing treatment at the hospitals rose to 21. Four of the victims were discharged in the evening, while 12 remain under treatment at Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala. Nine are admitted at Sangrur civil hospital.
Four people, all residents of Ravidaspura Tibbi village in Sunam block, succumbed on Saturday, six people died on Wednesday, four lost their lives on Thursday and six on Friday. The Punjab excise department also suspended Sunam excise inspector Prakash Singh, Patran’s inspector Kashmir Singh and Dirba’s inspector Mohan Singh. The department ordered disciplinary action against excise and taxation officer Sarwoopinder Singh and assistant commissioner (excise) Rohit Garg, said an official aware of the matter.
The Punjab Police also suspended Shutrana station house officer (SHO) Yashpal Sharma for “laxity” in duty.
Mann seeks villagers’ help to curb illegal activities
Mann also appealed to the residents to inform any illegal activity in their area, including selling liquor or other drugs to the government to stop such incidents in future.
“I want to appeal to you all, please inform us in time. I came across the youngsters of this village who told me that ‘chitta’ (heroin) is being sold in the village. Had you (villagers) informed us in time, we could have taken action. Nevertheless, we will take action now,” said Mann while addressing a gathering at Gurjan village after meeting the kin of the deceased.
Cheema directs officials to take strict action
Excise minister Harpal Cheema also visited Sangrur to meet the families of the victims. “We stand by these families. Whatever support they require will be provided,” he said.
Cheema met the kin of victims at Dhandoli Khurd and Gujran. Cheema said that section 61 A of the Excise Act was also added along with section 302 of IPC in the FIR.
“The excise officials have been directed to further tighten noose around the sale of illicit liquor. We will take strict action against the excise officials if any laxity is found on their part,” Cheema said.
Blot on Punjab govt: Jakhar
Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar also reached Gurjan and met the kin of victims. He said this hooch tragedy was a blot on the Punjab government and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). “Bhagwant Mann himself used to make tall claims of tightening the noose around the sale of illicit liquor. These claims have fallen flat. The sale of illicit and spurious liquor is rampant in his (CM Bhagwant Mann) home district, and legislative constituency of excise minister,” Jakhar said.
