As many as 28 people have died from consuming spurious liquor in Gujarat’s Botad district, officials informed on Tuesday.
They said that three FIRs has been registered at Barwala, Ranpur and Ahmedabad Rural in this regard so far.
In addition, over a dozen were hospitalized having consumed the chemical-laced liquor. A committee has also been formed to inquire into the incident of chemical misuse in Botad, Banvala and Dhandhuka Talukdas.
Meanwhile, cases have been registered against 14 people in connection with the incident.
Director general of police (DGP) Ashish Bhatia said, “A total of 28 people have died in the tragedy. The chemical was directly mixed with water and consumed by people, 600 litres of this was sold at Rs 40,000.”
DGP Bhatia further said that the local police will constitute a special investigation team (SIT) over the matter.
“Three FIRs registered at Barwala, Ranpur and Ahmedabad Rural...Local Police will constitute SIT,” he added.
In the meantime, Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghvi has taken note of the incident. He has also chaired a meeting to discuss the issue.
An official resolution from the state government read, “This is pertaining the chemical misuse incident that took place on 25/7/22 and 26/7/22 that spans over villages of Botad and Ahmedabad districts. Keeping in view the gravity of the incident, the State Government has resolved to form a Committee.”
The committee comprises of IPS Inspector General of Police, (Crime – I), CID (Crime and Railways) Subhash Trivedi, chairperson, MA Gandhi, IAS VC and MD , GSRTC and Director, Prohibition and Excise, Gujarat and HP Sanghvi, Director Forensic Science Laboratory, Gujarat.
The document read that the committee shall inquire into the reasons of this incident and submit a detailed report.
It may be noted that the incident came to the fore after several people were hospitalized last night after consuming spurious liquor.
Dr. Rakesh Joshi, Medical Superintendent at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad said, “13 people from nearby villages admitted to civil hospital, 6 are stable & kept under observation. The other 6 are being treated. As of now, nobody is serious. We are ready to treat more patients.”
