Indore, Oct 26 (PTI) Ten persons were arrested on Monday for allegedly selling illicit liquor amid a high-level investigation into claims that several villagers died after consuming spurious liquor in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district, a police official said.
The arrested accused include two managers and two salesmen from three licensed liquor shops in Dewas and Indore districts, and goods worth Rs 7.25 lakh, including 54 litres of country liquor, a car, 10 mobile phones, and Rs 10,000 in cash, were seized, he added.
The probe was initiated after information was received from the district hospital about the deaths of two people in Chandana village on October 15 and 18 after allegedly consuming spurious liquor, the official said.
“The kin of the deceased and others named one Vinod Jaiswal, a resident of the village, as the seller of illicit liquor. Acting on a tip-off, a road block was set up, leading to the arrests of Jaiswal, Ajay Rathore, and Rameshwar Songara from a car. Police recovered six cartons of country liquor from the vehicle and registered a case under Excise Act,” he said.
The three have confessed to colluding with Satyendra Ojha, Nitin Solanki, Chandrashekhar Bairagi, Raj, Jugal, Rajendra Ninama and Vishal Chauhan to sell liquor illegally. These persons have also been arrested, he added.
“We will get the seized liquor tested at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL),” City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Sumit Agarwal told reporters.
Villagers claim at least 10 people died after consuming spurious liquor between September 27 and October 16 in Chandana, Binjana, and surrounding areas in Dewas district.
State Congress President Jitu Patwari claimed 22 people died and at least 40 were affected by vision loss in these areas over the past month due to consumption of spurious liquor.
The district administration initially dismissed the claims of deaths due to spurious liquor. However, the state government later formed a five-member high-level team to probe the matter. PTI HWP MAS BNM
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