Gujarat hooch tragedy toll climbs to 42; 15 held

Ahmedabad, July 27

The death toll due to the consumption of spurious liquor in Gujarat’s Botad district has reached 42, a state minister said on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi said the police would file a chargesheet in the case in 10 days and the trial would be held in a fast-track court.

“Forty-two citizens have died so far after consuming spurious liquor laced with highly toxic methyl alcohol in Gujarat’s Botad district two days back. Fifteen key accused, right from the one who acquired the chemical and those who sold the liquor to people, have already been arrested,” he said. Since Tuesday, nine persons admitted to various hospitals died during treatment.

Nearly 97 persons are still admitted in hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad and Ahmedabad, he said. Sanghavi said the government would also appoint a special public prosecutor to fight the case.

The police in Botad and Ahmedabad on Tuesday registered three FIRs against nearly 20 culprits under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 328 (causing hurt by poison) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and have arrested at least 15 of them so far, he said.

The Vadodara rural police on Wednesday nabbed Jatubha Rathod, one of the accused in an FIR registered by Barvala police in Botad and absconding since being booked, an official said. The hooch tragedy had come to light early Monday morning when some people living in Rojid village of Botad and other surrounding villages were referred to government hospitals in Barvala area and Botad towns with deteriorating health conditions.

Primary probe by police revealed that some small-time bootleggers of different villages of Botad district had made spurious liquor by mixing water with methyl alcohol or Methanol, a highly poisonous industrial solvent, and sold it to villagers for Rs 20 per pouch.

According to cops, forensic analysis has established that victims consumed methyl alcohol. After the tragedy, Sanghavi announced that the state Home Department had decided to tighten control over the production and sale of methyl alcohol in the state.