Punjab BJP protests against state govt over hooch tragedy

While rejecting the magisterial probe ordered by the state government into the incident, Sharma said only a probe by the central investigating agency could expose the alleged nexus between Congress leaders, police and liquor mafia in the state. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national secretary Chugh said the protest was organised to "wake up the state government from its deep slumber".

The Punjab unit of the BJP on Friday held a protest here against the Congress government in the state over the recent spurious liquor tragedy that claimed over 120 lives. Led by Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma, protesters slammed the state government for the hooch tragedy and sought a CBI probe into the incident.

Among protesters, several state BJP leaders including Tarun Chugh, former union minister Vijay Sampla and Jeevan Gupta raised slogans against the government, holding it responsible for the tragedy. The Chandigarh police stopped them at Sector 17 from moving towards Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's residence here.

The protesters were briefly detained by police and later released. The spurious liquor tragedy in Punjab has killed 121 people in three districts. The maximum 92 fatalities were reported from Tarn Taran, followed by 15 in Amritsar and 14 at Batala in Gurdaspur.

Punjab BJP chief Sharma alleged that the liquor mafia had mushroomed in the state under the patronage of ruling party leaders. While rejecting the magisterial probe ordered by the state government into the incident, Sharma said only a probe by the central investigating agency could expose the alleged nexus between Congress leaders, police and liquor mafia in the state.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national secretary Chugh said the protest was organised to "wake up the state government from its deep slumber". "The state government is patronising the liquor mafia in the state," he alleged.

He said the BJP would further intensify its agitation against the state government in the coming days.