Kallakurichi (Tamil Nadu) [India], June 26 (ANI): A three-member delegation of the National Commission for Women, led by Khushbu Sundar, visited the families of victims who lost their lives by consuming illicit liquor in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district.
The NCW had earlier taken suo motu cognizance of a media report on the deaths of people in the incident and constituted a three-member inquiry committee, led by NCW Member Khushbu Sundar, to look into the matter.
As per it, the NCW delegation led by Khushbu Sundar has come to Kallakurichi district to inquire about the incident and to meet the family members of the persons who have died by drinking illicit liquor in Kallakurichi district.
Khushbu Sundar said that she would submit the inquiry report tomorrow itself and again urged for a CBI investigation into the matter.
“Everyone around this area knows that illicit liquor sales are taking place near the police station itself in the Kallakurichi district. Even though a lot of complaints have been raised and no action has been taken to date. When they knew illicit liquor sales were happening in Kallakurichi, why did they not take any action on it and why did they not stop it?” she said while talking to reporters after meeting with the victims’ families’.
“Tamil Nadu Government has given Rs 10 lakhs to the families but that cannot fulfil their emotional needs when they have lost a family member. It’s a very big loss for them. What is this Rs 10 lakh going to do? Tomorrow I’m going to Delhi and will submit the report to the Commission. We are demanding a CBI inquiry but they are not doing it, after submitting the report, everything will be revealed,” she added.
Also, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) earlier took cognizance of the case and issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Government of Tamil Nadu, calling for a detailed report within one week.
The Commission observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of the right to life of the victims.
Earlier in the day, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) Chairman Kishor Makwana, along with the Deputy Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Commission for Scheduled Castes (TNCSC) Puneeth Pandian and the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the National Aditya Vidarbha Commission Sanmeet Kaur, met the family members of the victims.
The death toll in the hooch tragedy rose to 63 as per Kallakurich District Collectorate data on Wednesday evening.
Currently, 88 people are undergoing treatment in total, out of which 47 are admitted to the Government Kallakurichi Medical College and Hospital and 63 have been discharged in total from the Government Kallakurichi Medical College, as per the hospital authorities.
9 people have been admitted to the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) Puducherry and a total of six have been discharged from the hospital. A total of five people have passed away at JIPMER.
29 people are undergoing treatment at Salem Medical College, while 22 have passed away, as reported by hospital authorities. Two people are currently admitted to the Villupuram Medical College and two have been discharged from there.
One person has been admitted to the Royapettah Greater Hospital in Chennai. Two people admitted to Sri Sanjeevi Hospital have been discharged.
The total number of people affected by the consumption of illicit liquor has now increased to 225. (ANI)
