Women-led mob ransacks liquor shop in MP's Tikamgarh over Sagar hooch deaths
Angry over the Sagar hooch tragedy that has claimed 16 lives, a mob led by women ransacked a licensed liquor shop in Madhya Pradesh's Tikamgarh district, damaging liquor stock worth Rs 25 lakh, an official said on Monday.
The protesters raised anti-alcohol slogans and demanded accountability for the families of those who died before storming the outlet in Bamhori village on Sunday.
The incident took place in Bamhori under the Jatara subdivision, around 35 km from the district headquarters, District Excise Officer Naresh Pratap Singh told PTI.
The mob targeted a liquor outlet operated by Maa Gaholi Wines and destroyed large quantities of country-made liquor and Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) valued at Rs 25 lakh, Singh said.
Tikamgarh and Sagar are located in Madhya Pradesh's economically backward Bundelkhand region, which borders Uttar Pradesh.
The excise officer alleged that the Bamhori village sarpanch used the Sagar tragedy to create opposition to the liquor shop and mobilised people to strengthen his local political influence.
A police personnel posted at the Bamhori beat under Digoda police station said the shop salesman had submitted an application seeking registration of an FIR against unidentified persons.
In the Sagar hooch tragedy case, police have arrested 19 people, with some arrests following brief encounters. Police have claimed that a suspected gang from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh's Lalitpur was involved in manufacturing and supplying the spurious liquor that has claimed 16 lives. (with inputs from PTI)
