Madhya Pradesh hooch tragedy death toll rises to 16, 16 accused arrested

The death toll in the Sagar hooch tragedy in Madhya Pradesh rose to 16 on Thursday after one more person died during treatment, while 32 others are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, an official said.

Of those being treated, one person is in serious condition, District Collector Pratibha Pal told PTI.

Police said 30 people have been named as accused in the case, of whom 16 have been arrested and one detained. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident.

The spurious liquor was allegedly brewed at an illegal facility in Sagar district, police said.

Sagar Superintendent of Police Anurag Sujania said Ravi Lakhera, allegedly a member of a gang from Lalitpur in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, was involved in brewing the liquor. Lakhera, a resident of Lalitpur’s Gangapuram Colony, is absconding, he said.

Police said the victims had consumed spurious liquor falsely labelled as “Sagar Gold”, a cheap whisky available locally.

“We have unearthed the hooch factory,” Sujania said.

Police sources said empty bottles and labels of Sagar Gold, along with material used to brew liquor, were recovered from the facility on Wednesday.

Authorities have also demolished illegal structures allegedly belonging to accused Manish Lodhi, Ashish Sahu and Chandrabhan Singh, the SP said. Manish and Ashish are absconding, while Chandrabhan is in police custody.

The Chief Minister ordered a judicial probe on Wednesday to ensure an impartial investigation and fix responsibility for the tragedy.

Yadav also directed senior IAS officer Dilip Kumar, who was recently posted, to take charge of the Sagar division and appointed senior IPS officer Irshad Wali as Inspector General of the Sagar range.

The chief minister had earlier said negligence or irregularities in serious cases would not be tolerated at any level.