Punjab Hooch Tragedy Death Toll Rises to 21

Chandigarh: The total number of deaths due to the suspected consumption of spurious liquor in Punjab’s Sangrur district has risen to 21.

According to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Sangrur, more than 40 persons affected by the spurious liquor are still admitted to the hospital.

This hooch tragedy came to the fore on March 20, when four people died allegedly after drinking spurious liquor and some others were hospitalised. The next day, four more people died during treatment at Patiala’s Rajindra Hospital.

Eight more persons succumbed on Friday, March 22 and five died on Saturday, taking the death toll to 21.

Till now, a total of six people have been nabbed in connection with the case.

A High-level Committee has been setup to supervise the uncovering of the backward and forward linkages in a professional & scientific manner to unearth the nexus behind the whole matter. A four-member SIT headed by ADGP Law & Order Gurinder Dhillon IPS, and including DIG Patiala Range Harcharan Bhullar IPS, SSP Sangrur Sartaj Chahal IPS & Additional Commissioner (Excise) Naresh Dubey will supervise the investigations.