At least 21 people have died in Amritsar’s Majitha tehsil till Tuesday after consuming spurious liquor, delivering a blow to chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s campaign against addiction.
Punjab director-general police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said 10 people, including the alleged kingpin of the illicit liquor trade, distributors and suppliers of industrial-grade methanol used in making hooch, had been arrested.
Yadav said Majitha deputy superintendent of police Amolak Singh and station house officer Avtar Singh had been suspended for “gross negligence”.
“We deputed medical teams as soon as we got information about the hooch tragedy. They are visiting door to door. Even though those who consumed it are asymptomatic, we are insisting that they get a medical check-up,” deputy commissioner Sakshi Sawhney told reporters here.
She said the victims had consumed the spurious liquor either on Sunday or Monday and started vomiting soon after. “We are assuring the affected families of our full support,” the deputy commissioner said.
The deaths were reported in four villages and several have been hospitalised in
serious condition.
Mann met the affected families and announced ₹10 lakh each as compensation to the kin of the deceased.
“No matter how big an officer or leader is involved, no accused will be spared. Because these are not deaths, they are a kind of murder…. Under our War Against Drugs campaign, we will not allow any kind of poison to be sold in Punjab,” he told reporters.
Punjab Opposition leader Partap Singh Bajwa also visited the area and demanded the resignation of excise minister Harpal Cheema.
Bajwa posted on X: “This tragedy exposes the hollow claims of @AAPPunjab’s ‘Yudh Nasheyan De Virudh’ campaign.… CM @BhagwantMann, you said the Majitha hooch tragedy couldn’t happen without political, bureaucratic, or police support. I agree. But aren’t you the head of all three? If there’s complicity, accountability starts with you.”
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal said Mann had lost the right to remain the chief minister.
He posted on X: “Illegal distilleries are flourishing, and innocent lives are being snuffed out. Where are our task forces, @BhagwantMann?... This exposes the hollowness of your ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ slogan.”
BJP Union minister Ravneet Bittu said: “Their so-called ‘Yudh Nasheyan De Virudh’ is nothing but a political theatre. When the chief minister himself has a history with alcohol, how can the fight against addiction ever be sincere?”
In 2020, a total of 121 people had died after consuming hooch in the border districts of Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Gurdaspur.