12 dead after consuming spurious liquor in Amritsar's Majitha; kingpin among 9 arrested

Twelve people have died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Amritsar’s Majitha area, officials said on Tuesday. In a swift breakthrough, nine people—including the main supplier and the alleged kingpin—were arrested as police expanded the investigation beyond state borders.

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The deceased include three youths each from Bhangali and Marrari Kalan villages, and two from Threawal village.

Police officials stated that the death toll may rise, as the condition of several others remains critical. Majitha police have initiated an investigation into the source of the illicit liquor.

The deceased include Major Singh (alias Modu), Paramjit Singh (alias Pamma), Sarbjit Singh (alias Shabba), and Tasveer Singh (alias Sikandar Singh) from Marrari Kalan village; Joginder Singh (alias Manna), Karnail Singh (alias Mahant), and Jeeta (alias Siti) from Threawal; and Balbir Singh, Ramandeep Singh, and Romanjit Singh (alias Romi) from Bhangali Kalan.

Majitha SHO Aabtaab Singh said, “Preliminary investigation revealed that they all took liquor from a single source on Sunday evening. Some of them died on Monday morning, and locals cremated them without informing the police. We received information about the deaths due to liquor in the late evening and initiated an investigation.”

Officials said Prabhjit Singh, the main supplier in the area, was among those arrested. Sahib Singh, identified as the kingpin of the liquor distribution network, was nabbed from Rajasansi. Five others who had purchased liquor from the kingpin and supplied it to villages were also taken into custody.

Later, two accused, identified as Arun Kumar and Sikander Singh, were arrested by the police.

Police teams have now moved outside the state to apprehend firms suspected of supplying the illicit liquor.