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Spurious liquor deaths: Nine held in Yamunanagar , Ambala
The arrested accused are identified as Gaurav Bubka, Pradeep, Rocky, Ramesh and Mange Ram, all from Yamunanagar, and Kapil Pandit, Gaurav, Uttam and Ankit, alias Mougali, all from Ambala. Other accused identified as Puneet of Ambala is yet to be arrested
A day after six men died due to suspected consumption of spurious liquor in two villages of the Farakpur area in Yamunanagar, police arrested nine men from Yamunanagar and Ambala on Thursday.
The arrested accused are identified as Gaurav Bubka, Pradeep, Rocky, Ramesh and Mange Ram, all from Yamunanagar, and Kapil Pandit, Gaurav, Uttam and Ankit, alias Mougali, all from Ambala. Other accused identified as Puneet of Ambala is yet to be arrested.
Police said Uttam was the owner of the land where the illegal unit to produce spurious liquor was established and Ankit was the manufacturer.
SP Jashandeep Singh Randhawa said that based on the inputs from Yamunanagar, it was found that the source of supply is in Dhanoura village under the limits of Mullana police station.
“A team of CIA and area police raided the site in sugarcane farms and found an abandoned industrial shed. During the raid, burnt packed bottles, 14 large drums, four small drums, a 1,000 liter RO plant, a drum with Fevicol, 30 sacks of empty plastic bottles and other equipment were recovered,” he added.
The SP said, “Ankit is a habitual offender involved in illegal drugs and liquor supply. He was recently booked after poppy husk in commercial quantity was recovered from his possession and had come out on bail. During the late-night raid, the accused managed to dispose of the evidence and burnt a few of them. However, the police team cordoned off the whole area and carried out a search operation to collect the left evidence.”
An SIT under the supervision of the SP, constituting DSP, Barara, CIA-2 and CIA Shahzadpur is probing the case.
A case against Ankit, Uttam, Puneet and Kapil Pandit was registered under Sections 272, 328, 308, 420, 468, 471, 472, 473, 201, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, and under Sections of the Punjab Excise (Haryana Amendment Bill), the Punjab Excise Act and Copyright Acts.
Randhawa appealed to the residents not to consume country-made malta liquor with batch number November 16, 2021, made by Oasis Overseas Distillery, which was probably used by the accused to manufacture illicit liquor.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old daily wager, identified as Praveen, of Phoosgarh village, breathed his last at PGIMER in Chandigarh on Thursday.
Yamunanagar ASP Himadree Kaushik said it is suspected that he also consumed the same liquor and was taken to a government facility after his health deteriorated from where he was referred to Chandigarh.
The autopsy of one Vishal, who was among the six men who lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor, was conducted on Thursday.
“Viscera samples of Vishal have been sent for further investigation. The forensic teams collected the evidence from the cremation ground where five men were cremated on Wednesday. We have also managed to collect blood samples of one of the deceased that has been sent for further examination,” the ASP told the HT.
Yamunanagar SP Ganga Ram Punia said the teams have also collected empty bottles and other evidence at the house of the deceased in the villages.
