Chhattisgarh: 3 die after consuming illicit liquor; probe launched

Janjgir BJP MLA Narayan Chandel, who is also leader of opposition in the state Assembly, visited the Nawagarh hospital and demanded a high-level enquiry into the incident as well as Rs 50 lakh compensation to kin of each of the deceased.It is a very sad incident and stern action should be against those found guilty.

A newly married serviceman and two of his friends died after allegedly consuming illicit liquor in Chhattisgarh's Janjgir-Champa district on Monday, police said.

The incident took place in Rogda village under Nawagarh police station limits. The deceased have been identified as Nandlal Kashyap, Satish Kashyap and Paras Ram Sahu, an official here said.

As per preliminary information, Nandlal, an army jawan, was on leave and got married last week. His family invited their relatives for a meal at their home on Monday for which Nandlal was making arrangements since morning, the official said. He and two others consumed liquor procured from a person who allegedly used to sell illicit alcohol in the village, following which the trio fell unconscious, the official said.

After being alerted, their family members shifted them to a hospital in Nawagarh where the three were declared dead, he said.

A forensic team was sent to the village for an investigation of the incident site. The team collected samples from a small food shop from where the victims had purchased the liquor, the official said.

Janjgir-Champa Superintendent of Police Vijay Agrawal said a probe has been launched into deaths of the three men.

The exact cause of their death will be known after receiving the post-mortem report, he added. Janjgir BJP MLA Narayan Chandel, who is also leader of opposition in the state Assembly, visited the Nawagarh hospital and demanded a high-level enquiry into the incident as well as Rs 50 lakh compensation to kin of each of the deceased.

“It is a very sad incident and stern action should be against those found guilty. The incident happened due to spurious liquor,'' he claimed.

''Since the Congress was elected to power in Chhattisgarh in 2018, the business of spurious and illicit liquor has been flourishing in the state,'' he further claimed. As a result of it, three families were destroyed today, Chandel said.

The Bhupesh Baghel government should learn a lesson from the incident, the BJP leader said. He claimed illegal and spurious liquor was being sold under the protection of the government and the administration. A high-level enquiry should be ordered into the incident and stern action should be taken against those found guilty, Chandel said.

He also demanded that CM Baghel announce a ban on liquor in the state, a promise made by the Congress during the 2018 Assembly polls. Notably, Baghel on Sunday said he didn’t have the courage to ban alcohol in the state when he witnessed deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor and other harmful substances after outlets were shut during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

He stressed the need for running campaigns against not just liquor, but all kinds of addiction.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)