Grief shrouds villages in Gujarat, hooch toll at 42

The hooch tragedy came to light early Monday morning when some people living in Rojid village of Botad and other surrounding villages were referred to government hospitals in Barvala area and Botad towns with deteriorating health conditions.

Mavjibhai Chavda, a resident of Akru village in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad district, on Monday lost his 23-year-old son Bhavesh during treatment at a hospital in Dhandhuka taluka. His youngest son had complained of giddiness and loss of vision after consuming spurious alcohol a day ago.

Deceased Dholabhai Bamroliya’s son Ramesh (left) during a prayer meet. (HT Photo)

After performing the last rites, Chavda returned home, only to learn that his elder son Kisan (40), who lived not too far away in the same village, also died at the same hospital after showing similar symptoms as Bhavesh.

The grief-stricken father made arrangements for another burial and performed the rituals. Upon returning from the burial ground, Chavda was told that the police and local authorities have to perform post-mortem on his youngest son for which his body had to be sent to the hospital.

“I do not know what killed my sons. The post-mortem report of my eldest son showed he had consumed some poisonous chemical and the police wanted to know if it was a similar case with my youngest son,” said Chavda, who is survived by four children. “We recovered his body and gave it for post-mortem.”

Bhavesh and Kisan, who worked as farm labourers, were among the 42 people who died in the last two days after consuming spurious liquor, police said on Wednesday.

The deceased belonged to different villages in Botad and Ahmedabad districts, a police officer said, adding that 97 people were still admitted to hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad and Ahmedabad, of which two are critical.

The hooch tragedy came to light early Monday morning when some people living in Rojid village of Botad and other surrounding villages were referred to government hospitals in Barvala area and Botad towns with deteriorating health conditions.

Addressing a press conference in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, minister of state for home Harsh Sanghavi said the police will file a charge sheet in the case in 10 days and the trial will be held in a fast track court.

“Forty-two citizens have died so far after consuming spurious liquor laced with highly toxic methyl alcohol in Botad district two days back. Fifteen key accused, right from the one who acquired the chemical and those who sold the liquor to people, have already been arrested,” he said. Since Tuesday, nine persons admitted to various hospitals died during treatment.

On Monday morning, 51-year-old Dholabhai Bamroliya, around 10km away from Akru, went to milk his cows when he fell down with a thud. He tried getting up, but everything seemed blurred. He managed to pull himself and walked up to Gajjuben Vadariya, a woman bootlegger two houses away.

“My father asked Gajjuben what she had given him the previous day but she did not pay heed to his words. He drove away two youths who were consuming alcohol there while two others threw their bottles away after listening to my father. Soon after, he returned home and started vomiting. We admitted him to the government hospital in Botad, where he passed away around 7pm on Monday,” said his son Ramesh Bamroliya. He said his father was an occasional drinker.

Three first information reports (FIRs) have been registered against nearly 20 people, including Gajjuben, under Sections 302 (murder), 328 (causing hurt by poison) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. “Most of the accused have already been detained,” a senior police officer said, requesting anonymity.

When HT correspondent visited Gajjuben’s house, it was locked. There were logs lying in the backyard with a couple of chairs and other seating arrangements, which villagers said were to serve liquor to customers.

Maximum 12 deaths have been reported from Rojid village whose sarpanch raised an alarm few months ago, informing the police and other authorities about illegal liquor sale in the village.

Among the deceased was 32-year-old Vipulbhai Vinubhai Kavathiya, a bootlegger, who had purchased liquor from Gajjuben and consumed some of it, said an investigating officer.

“Initially, he lost his vision and then started vomiting,” said his mother Chandaben Kavathiya. He was recently released from jail after serving his sentence under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Act, Chandaben added.

Family members of all the deceased that HT spoke to said the affected persons showed symptoms of blindness and severe vomiting after consuming the spurious liquor.

On Monday, two-three people were hospitalised and soon more were reported sick, officials said.

Gujarat is a ‘dry’ state where manufacture and sale of liquor is banned. As per the Gujarat Prohibition Act, police can arrest a person for purchasing, consuming, or serving alcohol without a permit with punishment ranging from three months to five years in prison.

Director general of police (DGP) Ashish Bhatia told reporters that a person identified as Jayesh aka Raju stole 600 litres of methyl alcohol from a chemical company’s godown in Ahmedabad’ Aslali area where he worked as a manager. “He sold it to his Botad-based cousin Sanjay for ₹40,000 on July 25. It was later sold to small-time bootleggers, including a woman. The pouches in which the chemical was packed were sold for ₹20 each,” said Bhatia.

Most of the deceased were sanitation workers, farm labourers and daily wagers.

Kamlaben Parmar, sister of 54-year-old Shanti Parmar, who died on Monday, pointed to an empty plot in the village where her brother dreamt of building a house next to their relatives.

“We had come together to celebrate a family occasion. My brother lived in Ahmedabad with his family and we all came to pray at the Khodiyar Maa temple right next to his plot,” she said. “After consuming the liquor, my brother kept assuring everyone that he was fine and that we should not worry about him. He died in his bed while trying to sleep.”

His son and nephew are undergoing treatment at Bhavnagar hospital as they also consumed the toxic liquor.

A little away is Dinesh Virgama’s house, which is now lying empty, after the 30-year-old labourer died in the hooch tragedy leaving behind a three-year-old son.

“The former sarpanch and some police officials did not take prompt action when they were alerted. It emboldened bootleggers, who have threatened villagers, of dire consequences if their names were given to police,” said Bhikhabhai Bhagat, a village priest who has complained to the police on multiple occasions against illicit liquor sale in the village.

Chavda, who lost his two sons, claimed no liquor is sold in his village and that his sons fetched it from nearby Nabhoi. Ramesh Poladara, a resident of Nabhoi, said though there has been no death in the village, liquor is often sold in some corner.

In the last one month, 4,651 Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) bottles and 400 litre of country-made liquor have been seized in nearby Chowkdi village, which is notorious for manufacture and sale of illegal liquor. Police officials said the poisonous chemical was mixed and sold to other bootleggers by some notorious criminals in Chowkdi, about 12 km from Rojdi.

“All the illegal liquor manufacturing facilities were brought to a grinding halt in the past few weeks. Perhaps this is the reason why the bootleggers came up with the idea of selling spurious liquor by mixing chemicals,” said a police official.

The Gujarat home department has formed a three-member committee headed by senior IPS officer Subhash Trivedi to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and submit a report within three days, a state government release said. The other two members are prohibition and excise director MA Gandhi and Gujarat forensic science laboratory director HP Sanghvi.

Meanwhile, accused Gajjuben Vadariya and Pintubhai Gorasawa from Chowkdi village have been sent to six-day police remand by a judicial magistrate court in Barwala.