18 months on, Amritsar hooch victims' kin await relief
PK Jaiswar & Gurbaxpuri
Amritsar, February 28
One and a half years after around 135 people died following consumption of spurious liquor in the Majha region, family members of many victims in Tarn Taran are still awaiting compensation.
The then Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, had announced Rs 5 lakh compensation each to kin of the deceased. Many families had lost their bread-earners in the hooch tragedy.
All families waiting for relief belong to the Tarn Taran area which reported the maximum casualties (112). They have been making rounds of government offices, but in vain.
Family members of Dilbagh Singh, a resident of Pandori Gola village, have been struggling to make their both ends meet since he died. Dilbagh is survived by wife Sharanjit Kaur, and three daughters.
Sharanjit Kaur said as she was taking care of her daughters and daily household chores, her mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law were working as daily wagers to keep the house running. The family lives in a one-room accommodation in the village.
She said they had submitted the documents for the compensation to the local SDM office, but they had not got any relief so far.
“Whenever we visit the office to know about the fate of the compensation file, officials don’t give us satisfactory answers,” she rued.
Another villager Baldev Singh, who lost his son Heera Singh, said he had submitted autopsy reports and other documents for compensation, but had not got a single penny till now. He said Heera Singh’s wife along with her children was now living with her parents.
Similarly, family members of Channa, a resident of Bhullar village, are also awaiting compensation.
Tarn Taran Deputy Commissioner Kulwant Singh said the administration received Rs 5 crore against the demand of Rs 5.60 crore for compensation to victims.
The DC said the amount was distributed to victims’ kin. “Several families are still to get compensation, while others have received it,” he said, adding that the administration had written to the government seeking release of the pending amount.
2 SITs probed cases
After the tragedy, five FIRs were registered in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Batala. Three FIRs were registered with the Tarn Taran police, and one each in Amritsar and Batala. Then DGP Dinkar Gupta had formed two special investigation teams, headed by DIG Ferozepur Range Hardyal Singh Mann and IG Border Range SPS Parmar, at the time. DIG Mann-led SIT investigated Tarn Taran incidents, while Parmar’s team probed Amritsar and Batala cases.
Over 100 persons arrested so far
Over 100 suspects were arrested in three police districts. The Tarn Taran police had arrested around 77 persons, while 13 and 14 suspects were arrested by the Amritsar rural and Batala police, respectively. One of the prime suspects, Rashpal Singh, who also heads a religious place in Tarn Taran, is still at large.
Charges framed against accused
According to police officials, different courts in three police districts had already framed charges against the accused in the hooch tragedy. Now, the courts are recording statements of the witnesses, including doctors and those who lost their vision due to the consumption of spurious liquor.
