Bhavnagar, A police constable has been arrested in connection with the hooch tragedy, which claimed the lives of 13 people in Gujarat's Bhavnagar, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to 39, an official said on Tuesday.
Police constable Rajdeepsinh Gohil, attached to the Velavadar Bhal police station, was taken into custody after investigations found that he was in constant contact with the prime accused, Gautam Solanki, and had assisted in the commission of the offence, the state monitoring cell stated in a release.
Of the 38 accused arrested earlier, 14 are currently in judicial custody, while 24 are on police remand, said the SMC, a special Gujarat police unit that tracks state-wide illicit liquor and gambling operations.
The accused have been booked on charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, adulteration and poisoning, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Prohibition Act.
Thirteen people died after consuming spurious liquor packed in bottles carrying labels of a popular Indian-made foreign liquor brand.
Initially, the matter came to light after three friends consumed the liquor at Vartej on the night of August 16, but all took ill, and one of them died.
{{/usCountry}}Initially, the matter came to light after three friends consumed the liquor at Vartej on the night of August 16, but all took ill, and one of them died.
{{/usCountry}}The examination of the blood sample of the first victim, Upendrasinh Gohil, showed the presence of methanol. More deaths followed, and many more were hospitalised with severe complications.
According to officials, 67 persons had consumed the liquor containing methanol, a highly toxic chemical.
The liquor contained 38.59 per cent methanol and 0.94 per cent ethanol, as per the Forensic Science Laboratory report, officials said.
Gujarat is a 'dry' state where the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol is banned.
The hooch was allegedly prepared at the house of Gautam Solanki, a resident of Vartej, with the help of Raees, who was detained in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
Solanki told the police that he came in contact with Raees through a common friend. Raees and Zuber, his assistant from Ujjain, procured raw materials from Ahmedabad and prepared the toxic liquor at Solanki's residence, according to the FIR registered at Vartej police station on August 19.
They involved Narendra Yadav, also from Madhya Pradesh, in the illegal business. Yadav, police later said, died after consuming the liquor that he himself prepared.
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