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Woman who gave voters hooch that killed 12 wins panchayat poll; held: Cop
Police arrested Babli Devi for the hooch tragedy that led to 12 deaths after the results to the panchayat election were declared.
HARIDWAR: Babli Devi, the 38-year-old woman who had been on the run for three weeks after 12 people died due to consumption of hooch earlier this month, was arrested on Thursday after she returned to celebrate her victory in the gram pradhan election. She had won the Shivnagar panchayat election by one vote.
“We have arrested Babli Devi today from Phoolgadh village who was absconding for the past three weeks. Her husband, Vijendra Chauhan, the main accused in the hooch tragedy, was arrested earlier,” said Pathri station house officer Pawan Dimri.
A murder case was filed against Vijendra Chauhan, his brother Naresh and Babli Devi for allegedly distributing illicit liquor in the runup to the September 26 panchayat elections after the death of 12 people.
A total of 3,370 votes were cast for the Shivnagar village panchayat elections; 142 votes were declared invalid. Ten candidates were in the race for the gram pradhan’s post; three villages Govindgadh, Shivgadh and Durgagadh fall under the Shivnagar panchayat.
Babli Devi’s campaign was overseen by her father-in-law Surajbhan Chauhan.
Local villagers said Babli Devi was not the only candidate to distribute liquor to her constituents to secure their vote; almost every other candidate did the same.
Political analyst Trilok Chand wondered why the police could not arrest her before she showed up on her own, particularly since a special investigation team was formed to investigate the case. “Why they couldn’t arrest her earlier is very intriguing and raises many questions (about the police probe”.
He explained that it appeared that Babli Devi’s community united in her support due to the police case. “The members of her community felt that there was a conspiracy to ensure Babli Devi gets defeated. It is primarily this caste angle that contributed to her victory. I also want to say that illegal liquor consumption is common in this area,” he said.
