Four more IPS officers, including two Superintendent of Police rank officers, have joined the Special Investigation Team formed to investigate the liquor death in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh in which 7 people died on January 20. The Director General of Police, Sanjay Kundu, on January 21, held a meeting with the Special Investigation Team officials in connection to the spurious liquor death case. Baddi SP Mohit Chawla, Una SP Arjit Sen, Additional SP of Kangra and DSP of Parwanoo have been included in the SIT, after the meeting.
According to sources, the post-mortem and the preliminary report of the investigation after the deaths due to the consumption of spurious liquor have revealed the presence of methyl alcohol in the liquor and this can be important evidence in cracking the case. However, there is no official confirmation yet about this.
The spurious liquor makers use chloral hydrate along with methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol and urea to increase the toxicity in the alcohol. Analysis of the viscera of the deceased will be carried out in three phases, which will bring to fore what chemicals had been used in preparing the spurious liquor.
Police have arrested four accused in the case who have been sent on police remand for seven days. An FIR has been registered under section 304, 308 and 120B of IPC for selling adulterated liquor. The four accused have been identified as Jagdish Chand, ex-pradhan of Salapar panchayat and Acchar Singh, the father-in-law of the serving pradhan of the panchayat. Two other accused were identified as Sohan Lal and Pradeep Kumar.
Seven men lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, on January 19-20, according to a press release by DGP Kundu. After falling severely ill on Tuesday morning, two of the victims were brought to CHC Sundernagar. Five of them died on Wednesday while two died the day after, on Thursday.
