Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], August 1 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced Rs 2-lakh compensation each to the families of the deceased in the hooch tragedy that claimed at least 86 lives.
During the 13th edition of the Facebook Live of #AskCaptain interaction, the Chief Minister announced the suspension of ETOs (Excise & Taxation Officers), Lovejinder Brar, from Gurdaspur, B S Chahal from Amritsar and Madhur Bhatia from Tarn Taran.
The Excise & Taxation Inspectors (ETIs) who have been suspended with immediate effect are Ravi Kumar (Gurdaspur), Gurdeep Singh (Amritsar) and Pukhraj from Fatehabad and Hitesh Prabhakar from City Tarn Taran in district Tarn Taran.
The Chief Minister also ordered the suspension of and inquiry against seven excise and taxation officers and inspectors, along with two DSPs and four SHOs of police in connection with the hooch tragedy, which has so far claimed 86 lives, as per an official statement of the Punjab government.
Most of the deceased are from Tarn Taran, which accounts for 63 deaths, followed by Amritsar Rural at 12 and Gurdaspur (Batala) at 11.
As the death toll in the hooch tragedy rose to 86, the Punjab Police arrested 17 more people in a “massive crackdown” spanning more than 100 raids.
The total number of arrests in the case has gone up to 25, the police said.
The Chief Minister warned those indulging in spurious liquor business to stop immediately or face grave consequences.
“I had directed the police to trace the culprits and charge all the people involved in the case, in which he had yesterday ordered a magisterial inquiry by a Divisional Commissioner, who has been asked to submit his report within a month. Such illegal acts are not acceptable, I will not let people dying to the greed of a few criminals,” Captain Amarinder Singh said.
The police officials suspended on charges of negligence in duty include DSP Jandiala (Amritsar Rural) and DSP sub-division Tarn Taran, and the SHOs of PS Tarsikka (Amritsar Rural), City Batala (Batala police district), PS Sadar Tarn Taran and PS City Tarn Taran.
According to the excise department, though reports of the chemical analysis of the material seized in Friday’s raids were yet to come, a superficial check showed that the material was denatured spirit, generally used in paint/hardware industry.
Hooch tragedy unfortunate, Punjab police can solve it: Minister
Describing the hooch tragedy as unfortunate, Punjab Minister of Social Security, Women and Child Development Aruna Chaudhary on Monday said the Punjab Police are capable of cracking down on the case.
She said Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has already ordered the suspension of seven excise officials and six policemen with immediate effect and initiated an inquiry against them. He has given strict orders to state police to bring the guilty to justice.
Chaudhary said the state government has also directed the police to launch a state-wide crackdown on spurious liquor manufacturing units that may be operating in the state and so far conducted more than 100 raids throughout the state.
On the demand of CBI probe by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, she said that this demand was a political gimmick and Punjab Police have the ability to solve such cases. She said the state government has taken steps to curb the mafia in the state.
‘Mind your own business’: Amarinder to Kejriwal for demanding CBI probe over Punjab hooch tragedy
Hours after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the hooch tragedy, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday suggested him to ‘mind his own business’.
Singh, as per Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) press release, asked his Delhi counterpart to not exploit the tragic affair for reviving his “defunct” Aam Aadmi Party’s stake in the state.
He further alleged that Kejriwal’s demand for the CBI probe was nothing but a “political gimmick” aimed at regaining lost footfold for his party, which had lost ground in Punjab despite being the principal opposition party, the release quoted Punjab CM.
“Rather than delay the investigation and allow the trail to go cold even in the present spurious liquor case by handing over the probe to CBI, he was more interested in ensuring swift action against all those whose greed had cost the state around 100 lives,” Singh said.
Demanding the CBI probe in the hooch tragedy, Kejriwal had tweeted earlier today: “Saddened by the loss of lives in Punjab due to illicit liquor. State government needs to immediately take necessary steps to curb such mafias. The case should be handed over to CBI immediately as none of the illicit liquor cases from the last few months have been solved by local police.” (ANI)
