MARARI KALAN (AMRITSAR): Methanol-spiked hooch killed 21 people in seven villages of Punjab's Amritsar district since Monday night, putting the AAP govt in the line of fire over what the opposition said was a consequence of giving the liquor mafia free rein. Till late Tuesday, four of 10 others hospitalised with symptoms of methanol poisoning were in a critical condition.
The alleged kingpin of the racket was among 10 suspects arrested within hours of the deaths as the administration scrambled to fix accountability, including suspending DSP Amolak Singh and station house officer Avtar Singh in Majitha subdivision for negligence. DGP Gaurav Yadav said alleged kingpin Sahib Singh procured methanol from a Ludhiana company.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said alleged kingpin Sahib Singh procured methanol – a toxic alcoholic compound used as a solvent in industrial products like plastics, paints and textiles – from a Ludhiana company through an online platform and another consignment from a Delhi-based firm.
Methanol suppliers Pankaj Kumar, alias Sahil, and Arvind Kumar, who co-own Sahil Chemicals at Sukh Enclave in Ludhiana, were arrested along with local distributors Prabhjit Singh and Kulbir Singh, and liquor retailers Ninder Kaur, Sahib Singh, Gurjant Singh, Arun and Sikander Singh.
Amritsar Rural SSP Maninder Singh said Prabhjit received methanol in a 50-litre jerry can from Sahib and diluted it in an unspecified volume of liquor stock sold through various outlets.
Most of the victims and those battling for life after consuming this hooch are daily-wage and industrial workers from Marari Kalan, Bhangali Kalan, Threawal, Patalpuri, Talwandi Khumman, Karnala and Bhangwan villages.
“No matter how big and influential the leader or the police officer is, no one will be spared who sells poison in the name of alcohol,” CM Bhagwant Mann wrote on X, also announcing Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the kin of each of the deceased.
Opposition parties demanded that Mann and state excise minister Harpal Singh Cheema resign for the lapses that led to the hooch deaths.
Amritsar DC Sakshi Sawhney said the administration was informed of people taking ill after drinking liquor late on Monday. A medical team was immediately dispatched to the affected areas. “Health teams are conducting door-to-door visits, urging anyone who may have consumed spurious liquor to undergo a medical check-up, as symptoms can manifest within 24-48 hours,” she said.
Police registered an FIR each at Majitha and Kathunangal under sections of the new penal code BNS, the Excise Act, and Section 3 of the SC/ST Act.
SSP Maninder Singh said the suspected kingpin paid bus operators to distribute the methanol that was used to spike liquor. The hooch trail could lead to other states, investigators said.
The alleged kingpin of the racket was among 10 suspects arrested within hours of the deaths as the administration scrambled to fix accountability, including suspending DSP Amolak Singh and station house officer Avtar Singh in Majitha subdivision for negligence. DGP Gaurav Yadav said alleged kingpin Sahib Singh procured methanol from a Ludhiana company.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said alleged kingpin Sahib Singh procured methanol – a toxic alcoholic compound used as a solvent in industrial products like plastics, paints and textiles – from a Ludhiana company through an online platform and another consignment from a Delhi-based firm.
Methanol suppliers Pankaj Kumar, alias Sahil, and Arvind Kumar, who co-own Sahil Chemicals at Sukh Enclave in Ludhiana, were arrested along with local distributors Prabhjit Singh and Kulbir Singh, and liquor retailers Ninder Kaur, Sahib Singh, Gurjant Singh, Arun and Sikander Singh.
Amritsar Rural SSP Maninder Singh said Prabhjit received methanol in a 50-litre jerry can from Sahib and diluted it in an unspecified volume of liquor stock sold through various outlets.
Most of the victims and those battling for life after consuming this hooch are daily-wage and industrial workers from Marari Kalan, Bhangali Kalan, Threawal, Patalpuri, Talwandi Khumman, Karnala and Bhangwan villages.
“No matter how big and influential the leader or the police officer is, no one will be spared who sells poison in the name of alcohol,” CM Bhagwant Mann wrote on X, also announcing Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the kin of each of the deceased.
Opposition parties demanded that Mann and state excise minister Harpal Singh Cheema resign for the lapses that led to the hooch deaths.
Amritsar DC Sakshi Sawhney said the administration was informed of people taking ill after drinking liquor late on Monday. A medical team was immediately dispatched to the affected areas. “Health teams are conducting door-to-door visits, urging anyone who may have consumed spurious liquor to undergo a medical check-up, as symptoms can manifest within 24-48 hours,” she said.
Police registered an FIR each at Majitha and Kathunangal under sections of the new penal code BNS, the Excise Act, and Section 3 of the SC/ST Act.
SSP Maninder Singh said the suspected kingpin paid bus operators to distribute the methanol that was used to spike liquor. The hooch trail could lead to other states, investigators said.
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