Punjab hooch tragedy: Most victims were labourers and small-scale workers

AMRITSAR: Twenty-one people from seven villages of Majitha assembly constituency falling in Amritsar district of Punjab died after consuming spurious liquor, police said on Tuesday. Ten others were undergoing treatment, and the condition of four of them was reported to be critical. The kingpin of the racket was among the 10 people arrested.

Majority of those who lost their lives were small-scale workers and daily wage labourers from Marari Kalan, Bhangali Kalan, Threawal, Patalpuri, Talwandi Khumman, Karnala and Bhangwan villages.

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said in a post on X that those responsible for the deaths of innocent people would not be spared. The opposition parties in state slammed the Mann govt for failing to rein in the alleged liquor mafia. They also sought the resignation of Mann and state excise minister Harpal Singh Cheema.

Amritsar deputy commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said they had received reports of several people falling seriously ill due to the consumption of toxic liquor on Monday night. Following this, a team of doctors was immediately dispatched to the affected area to provide medical assistance and remained there on Monday night. "Health teams are conducting door-to-door visits, urging anyone who may have consumed the spurious liquor to undergo a medical check-up, as symptoms can manifest within 24-48 hours," she said.

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav announced that 10 people, including the kingpin of the racket, along with several local distributors of methanol —a fatal chemical used in industrial products —were arrested. Those arrested included the kingpin, Sahib Singh, and main suppliers of methanol Pankaj Kumar alias Sahil and Arvind Kumar, who are the owners of Sahil Chemicals at Sukh Enclave in Ludhiana. Police also arrested local distributors Prabhjit Singh and Kulbir Singh, and local sellers Ninder Kaur, Sahib Singh, Gurjant Singh, Arun alias Kala, and Sikander Singh alias Pappu.

According to Yadav, preliminary investigation revealed that methanol was procured online by Sahib Singh, and used for manufacturing spurious liquor.

Giving further details, Amritsar Rural senior superintendent of police (SSP) Maninder Singh said that local distributor Prabhjeet Singh received the methanol in a 50-litre jerrycan from the kingpin. The SSP said that the latter confessed that he had ordered the methanol from a Ludhiana-based chemical firm, Sahil Chemicals, via an online platform, and another consignment from a Delhi-based firm. Excise and police teams had been dispatched to retrieve and seize the second consignment as soon as it arrives, he said.

Police registered two separate FIRs at Majitha and Kathunangal under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Excise Act, and section 3 of the SC/ST Act.

Shedding light on the method of distribution, the SSP said Sahib Singh paid some bus operators to distribute the methanol. Connections were also being traced to other states involved in supplying chemicals to Punjab, he added.

DSP, SHO suspended

Deputy Superintendent of Police Amolak Singh of Majitha subdivision and Police Station Majitha Station House Officer (SHO) Avtar Singh were suspended for gross negligence in discharging their official duties which resulted in the fatal incident. Departmental inquiries were also initiated.