Spurious liquor deaths: Central, state data mismatch leaves Haryana government red faced

A visibly upset home minister Anil Vij told the House that he will get the discrepancy inquired, fix responsibility for the lapse and inform all the MLAs.

: A huge variation in the statistics pertaining to deaths in Haryana due to consumption of spurious and illicit liquor from 2016 to 2022, tabled in the Haryana assembly on Monday and Lok Sabha in July, was pointed out by Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA Abhay Singh Chautala in the House, leaving the state government in an awkward position on the opening day of the winter assembly session.

Spurious liquor deaths: Central, state data mismatch leaves Haryana government red faced

A visibly upset home minister Anil Vij told the House that he will get the discrepancy inquired, fix responsibility for the lapse and inform all the MLAs.

The INLD legislator, who had given a calling attention in notice regarding death of four persons on November 23 due to drinking of spurious and poisonous liquor in Sonepat, cited a July 19 National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data tabled by the union minister of state, Ministry of Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai in the Lok Sabha to point out the aberration.

While Vij in a written response to Chautala’s calling attention notice told the state assembly that a total of 36 deaths have been registered in different districts of Haryana from 2016 to 2022 (till date), the reply tabled by the union minister of state in the Parliament put the number of deaths between 2016-2020 due to consumption of spurious liquor in Haryana at 476. The data in the Lok Sabha was tabled in reply to an unstarred question asked by BSP MP from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, Kunwar Danish Ali.

Soon after the home minister had tabled his response, the INLD MLA asked whether the reply was based on facts or is fictitious.

“The reply tabled in the Lok Sabha is also based on the information provided by your government. The Lok Sabha reply says that 169 persons in Haryana died due to consumption of spurious liquor in 2016, 135 died in 2017, 162 died in 2018 and 10 died in 2020. And the reply tabled by you says that only 36 persons died from 2016 to 2022. You need to ask your officials as to how there is a massive mismatch in the figures tabled in the Lok Sabha and Haryana Vidhan Sabha,” Abhay Singh said.

The reply tabled by the state home minister said that two persons had died due to consumption of spurious liquor in 2016, 30 in 2020 and 4 in 2022.

Vigilance Bureau yet to complete probe

The Home Minister’s reply on the action taken on the sale of illegal liquor during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown clearly showed that despite multiple inquiries instituted, not much headway has been made by the state government in terms of tangible action.

Vij told the House a Special Enquiry Team (SET) under the chairmanship of former IAS TC Gupta was constituted to enquire the matter of theft of liquor from the recovered stock stored in the temporary warehouse at Kharkhoda-Matindoo road in Sonepat during the lockdown. The SET in its report submitted to the government in July 2020 recommended appropriate action against individual officers for the lapses mentioned in the report.

It also suggested measures for systematic improvements in functioning of excise department. A copy each of SET report has been sent to the additional chief secretaries of the home and excise and taxation department for taking necessary action for implementing the SET recommendations.

It was also decided by the government that the whole matter be probed by the Vigilance Bureau (VB).

The home minister said that VB director has informed him that statements of 209 liquor contractors, 111 officers and employees have been taken in this case. Besides this, statements of 869 gazetted and non-gazetted officers of the excise department have also been taken and statements of people related to 23 distilleries have also been recorded, he told the House.

“We have nothing to hide. A ₹ 63.15 crore penalty has been imposed on liquor contractors by the excise officials and a sum of ₹ 7.68 crore has been recovered so far. I will not spare anyone. The vigilance inquiry is on and as soon as it is completed, I will take action. I am badnaam for not sparing anyone,” the minister said.