Sagar , The Bundelkhand belt of Madhya Pradesh has been struck by its second hooch tragedy in six years, leaving 11 dead in Sagar district, with investigators pointing to a suspected link to neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, where cheaper alcohol draws daily buyers across the border.
Police have detained some persons for questioning and those named as accused in the FIRs are being taken into custody, he said, adding that they would be arrested once the charges against them are confirmed. In February 2021, four persons died in Chhatarpur district, which is also part of Bundelkhand, after consuming a country-made liquor brand called ‘Dilse’ purchased from a shop in UP, according to police. The latest tragedy has echoes of the February 2021 incident in Chhatarpur district, when around 150 people gathered for a party in Paretha village. They purchased liquor branded ‘Dilse’ from a shop located about 500 metres away in neighbouring UP and consumed it, the then Chhatarpur Superintendent of Police Sachin Sharma had said. In another incident in January 2021, nearly 24 persons died after consuming spurious liquor in MP’s Morena district, part of the Chambal region.
“A link between people in Lalitpur, a district in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, and the local liquor contractor has emerged during the investigation into the 11 deaths,” Sagar Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Shashindra Chouhan said. Saxena, who visited Sagar, said the preliminary investigation suggested that the tragedy was caused by fake liquor that had been supplied, while police were probing where it had been manufactured.
