Chief Minister Mohan Yadav visited Sagar on Wednesday following the deaths of 28 people after allegedly consuming spurious liquor. After meeting patients undergoing treatment at the district hospital, the chief minister told the media that action was being taken against the accused under provisions carrying life imprisonment and the death penalty. He said the administration had been given a free hand and that all necessary action, including demolition of encroachments, would be taken.
The chief minister said action was also being taken against the accused under the Excise Act to prevent such an incident from happening again. So far, 28 deaths have reportedly occurred after people consumed spurious liquor in Sagar. However, the administration has officially confirmed 15 deaths. Several patients are still undergoing treatment in hospitals.
Police have so far arrested 16 of the 33 accused in the case. Interrogation has reportedly revealed information about the preparation and packaging of illicit liquor and its supply network in rural areas. The investigation has also brought to light the alleged role of Manish Lodhi alias Yashwant Thakur, a licensed contractor of the Barethi liquor shop and a resident of Banda. According to police, he was in contact with an interstate liquor smuggler.
An Excise Department official, speaking to Business Standard on condition of anonymity, said the ‘Sagar Gold’ and ‘Bombay Whisky’ brands allegedly consumed by the victims were not manufactured at licensed distilleries. Instead, spurious toxic liquor was allegedly produced using the names of these brands and sold to consumers at prices below the market rate.
The official said, “We immediately contacted the distilleries manufacturing both brands and matched all the batch numbers. No irregularities were found in them. There is a suspicion that counterfeit liquor was being manufactured using their names.”
The official also said that given the scale of the sales, there was a possibility of collusion by local licensed liquor shop owners. Police have seized more than 252.12 litres of liquor in two cases registered at Banda and Vinayaka police stations.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has accused the government of hiding the actual number of deaths. The party has demanded that the viscera of all the deceased be examined at an independent forensic laboratory in Bhopal.
Rahul Gandhi also targeted the government in a post on X. He said several people had lost their lives in Sagar after consuming spurious liquor and expressed apprehension that the government could once again follow the same pattern of action seen in similar incidents in the past.
