The death toll due to the suspected consumption of spurious liquor in Punjab’s Sangrur district has risen to 21.
On Wednesday, March 20, four people died allegedly after consuming spurious liquor and some were hospitalised. The next day, four more people succumbed during treatment at Patiala’s Rajindra Hospital.
In addition, eight people died on Friday, March 22, and five people died on the next day, taking the total death toll to 21.
During interrogation, the arrested accused informed the police that the toxic liquor was being prepared in a house. After receiving the information, the police raided the house and recovered 200 litres of ethanol, a kind of toxic chemical.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has constituted a "high-level" Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident.
In a post on X, the Punjab Police said, "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. SIT will go to the bottom of the conspiracy".
"No person found involved will be spared. Appeal to everyone to maintain peace and harmony. Don’t fall prey to unverified rumours," it added.
