Sagar , The death toll in the Sagar hooch tragedy in Madhya Pradesh rose to 12 on Monday after one more person succumbed, while nearly 30 others remained under medical observation, including two in critical condition, officials said.
Police and the excise department launched a massive crackdown on bootleggers after gathering inputs, she said, adding that revenue department teams, along with village representatives, were going door-to-door to check whether people were possessing liquor bottles. Police have arrested 14 of the 30 persons named as accused in FIRs lodged in connection with the incident as authorities launched a major crackdown on bootleggers, they said. Fourteen of the 30 accused named in the FIRs have been arrested, and a hunt is on for the remaining suspects, Pal said.
Three separate FIRs have been registered on complaints by the victims’ kin, Sagar Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Shashindra Chouhan said. The police were also investigating a suspected link between people in Lalitpur in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and the local liquor contractor , Chouhan said.
Collector Pal on Sunday said the preliminary investigation indicated that the liquor had been supplied from Lalitpur. “There is a gang in Lalitpur that supplies this kind of poisonous liquor.
Since this area is adjacent to Uttar Pradesh, this has come to light in the preliminary investigation,” she said.
