Gujarat liquor tragedy kills 9, leaves 3 critical

On Saturday, the death toll from consuming contaminated liquor in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district reached nine, with three individuals still in critical condition, according to district officials. Earlier, one victim, Hardik Kilji, passed away overnight between Friday and Saturday. Of the 17 patients still undergoing treatment at the civil hospital and six private clinics in the city, three remain in critical condition, reported the district administration.

A total of 17 individuals who ingested the liquor containing methanol, a dangerous substance, have been discharged, while 18 others have sought medical consultation. Police have apprehended 13 of the 21 named accused in connection with the tragic hooch incident. Gujarat, a dry state where alcohol production, sale, and consumption are prohibited, banned the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol.

The victims ingested spurious liquor packaged in bottles with the name of a well-known Indian-made foreign liquor brand. The accused are charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, adulteration, and poisoning under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Prohibition Act. A local court remanded the accused in police custody for 10 days. The probe has been handed over to Gujarat's State Monitoring Cell (SMC), a specialized police unit focusing on illicit liquor and gambling operations statewide.

The illicit liquor was allegedly manufactured at the house of Gautam Solanki, a resident of Vartej, with assistance from Raees, who was arrested from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The toxic liquor was packaged and sealed in bottles bearing the label of an Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) brand, then distributed to bootleggers for sale.

The incident came to light after three friends consumed the liquor in Vartej on August 16, but one of them died, followed by several others who fell severely ill. Blood tests revealed methanol levels of 38.59% and ethanol levels of 0.94% in the first victim, Upendrasinh Gohil. Solanki informed the police that he met Raees through a mutual acquaintance.

Raees and his assistant, Zuber, procured raw materials from Ahmedabad to prepare the toxic liquor at Solanki's residence, with Narendra Yadav from Madhya Pradesh joining them in the illegal enterprise. Yadav later died after consuming the liquor he himself prepared. Police teams have also been deployed to Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, where the raw material may have been sourced, stated SMC Superintendent of Police Mayursinh Chavda.

Most of the accused, according to Chavda, were driven by financial motives. The investigation is also probing the origin of the bottle-sealing equipment and who supplied it.