Sagar (MP), Sep 11 (PTI) One of the main accused in the Madhya Pradesh spurious liquor case that has claimed 16 lives was captured early Friday after an encounter with police in Sagar district, an official said.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav attributed the success to police efficiency and said that no one would be spared and strict action would be taken against those responsible for the hooch tragedy.
Police said they intercepted main accused Ravi Lakhera (45) in the Baraytha forest, about 40 km from the district headquarters, triggering an exchange of fire.
Lakhera (45) sustained a bullet injury to his leg during the encounter, while two of his accomplices, who were travelling with him on a motorcycle, managed to flee, said Additional Superintendent of Police Jayveer Bahdoriya.
He was taken to a hospital in Banda in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh for treatment, Bahdoriya told PTI over the phone.
Police sources said Lakhera is in a stable condition.
Lakhera is alleged to have been involved in manufacturing spurious liquor along with licensed liquor contractor Manish Lodhi, alias Yashwant Singh Lodhi, which was then distributed through peddlers in Sagar district.
Lakhera, a resident of Gangapuram Colony in Uttar Pradesh’s Lalitpur, which shares a substantial boundary with Sagar district, has around 25 criminal cases registered against him in MP, UP and elsewhere, mostly under the Excise Act, police sources said. He originally hails from UP’s Mahoba district, where his parents live.
He was also wanted in a case registered at Baheriya police station in Sagar in 2025 in connection with illegal liquor brewing, the sources said.
Lakhera is allegedly well-versed in liquor manufacturing and procuring materials used in its production and operated a team involved in making spurious liquor, they said.
Referring to the incident in Sagar, CM Yadav told reporters that he had directed the administration to take stringent action and not spare anyone responsible for the tragedy.
“The police demonstrated their efficiency, and this is why I had issued the instructions that I did,” he said.
The government won’t spare anyone under any circumstances, he said.
“We will launch a campaign against drugs in the state and take stringent action against those responsible for such incidents,” Yadav added.
The spurious liquor tragedy in Sagar district has left 16 dead, while 32 others are undergoing treatment at different hospitals. Of the 30 persons shown as accused, 17 have been arrested.
While the CM has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has accused the MP government of shielding the liquor mafia and questioned the earlier claim by the Sagar superintendent of police that the spurious liquor was supplied from Lalitpur. PTI MAS LAL NR
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