Opposition parties on Wednesday demanded stern action against the liquor mafia responsible for the series of hooch tragedies in recent years, particularly in Azamgarh where 28 persons lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor on July 6. The government on its part claimed that only12 persons had died in the hooch tragedy in Azamgarh.
Rejecting a magisterial inquiry by Additional District Magistrate of Azamgarh in the hooch tragedy, the Opposition demanded the constitution of a House committee comprising of all parties to investigate the matter.
Opposition parties demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased and the survivors of the tragedy. Members alleged that there was an organized nexus of liquor mafia with the police and it enjoyed patronage from politicians and the administration. The Opposition alleged that the Azamgarh district administration was suppressing the number of deaths.
Raising the issue through an adjournment notice, Bahujan Samaj Party member and former Speaker Sukhdeo Rajbhar said that the liquor mafia was running a parallel government in UP, which was evident from the fact that there was no let up in hooch tragedies which have been occurring in frequent intervals during the last several years.
"If the UP government was sensitive to the menace of spurious liquor then instead of tabling a routine report sent by the District Magistrate of Azamgarh, it should taken stern action against the organized liquor mafia operating with impunity in the state,’’said Rajbhar.
Opposing the adjournment notice, Parliamentary Affairs minister Suresh Khanna admitted that deaths due to consumption of illicit liquor was indeed very tragic. Claiming that the government had no intention of suppressing the number of causalities or protecting the culprits, Khanna said that as per information with the government, only 12 persons died after consuming spurious liquor. Three other deaths were due to heart attack and a total of 15 persons died.
Accepting the demand of the Opposition, the minister said that the government would give ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh to the survivors or the kin of the victims. He said that a minister will visit the village in Azamgarh on Thursday where the tragedy took place.
Khanna said that Station Officer of Raunapar police station, two sub inspectors and a constable of Excise department have been suspended after the tragedy. He said that so far, seven people have been arrested and the accused would be booked under Gangsters Act.
The minister said after the hooch tragedy, an enforcement drive was launched in Azamgarh during which 38 FIRs were lodged and 38 persons were arrested and 2,000 liters of spurious liquor seized and destroyed. After hearing both the parties, the Speaker rejected the adjournment notice.