HP hooch tragedy: 2 more die, toll shoots up to 7; 4 arrested

ShimlaMandi, Jan 20 PTI Two more people who allegedly consumed spurious liquor here, died on Thursday, taking the toll to seven, a senior police officer said.

Shimla/Mandi, Jan 20 (PTI) Two more people who allegedly consumed spurious liquor here, died on Thursday, taking the toll to seven, a senior police officer said. Meanwhile, four accused have been arrested and remanded to police custody for a week, he said. Four people remain admitted in hospitals. While two of them are in a local hospital, the other two have been referred to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, and are in critical condition, police said. Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjay Kundu identified the four arrested men as Sohan Lal alias Ravi (27), Pradeep Kumar alias Deep (47), Jagdish Chand (53) and Achchar Singh (69) of Sundernagar. All four were produced before the Court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class - II, Sundernagar, and it granted their police custody till January 26. The DGP, who also reached Sundernagar and is camping there to supervise the ongoing investigation, stated that the SIT is undertaking the investigation in an earnest way, which inter-alia includes visitation of the scene of crime, raids on suspected places, seizure of incriminating material and questioning of other suspected persons. Arvind Digvijay Negi, an IPS officer who has worked in the National Investigation Agency and in cases of national interest, has also been made a member of the SIT, the DGP said.

The special investigation team (SIT) headed by DIG (central range) Madhu Sudan and comprising Kangra Superintendent of Police Kushal Chand Sharma, Mandi SP Shalini Agnihotri and Shimla CID SP (Crime) Virender Kalia as its members, was set up on Wednesday. In a statement, state Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore held the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government responsible for the hooch tragedy as it allegedly failed to maintain law and order. Sundernagar Congress leader Sohan Lal Thakur said the Congress had been raising the issue of availability of spurious liquor since long. A memorandum in this connection was handed to the governor on August 16 last year, but no action was taken, he alleged. On Monday evening, some people allegedly consumed 'Santra brand' country liquor, manufactured by VRV Foods Limited in Kangra, and '999 Power Star Fine Whiskey' -- made by Empire Alcobrev, Chandigarh -- near Salapper in Mandi district. On Tuesday morning, they fell ill.

An FIR under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Sundernagar police station on Wednesday.

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