The death count due to consumption of spurious liquor in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district has gone up to eight, while 39 persons are currently undergoing treatment in , officials said on Thursday.
The matter came to light after a person died following consumption of toxic, chemical-laced liquor at Kharakadi village under the Vartej police station limits. Thirteen bootleggers have been arrested so far in connection with the case and remanded in police custody till August 31, they said. An FIR was subsequently registered, naming 21 individuals as accused, Chavda said.
The victims consumed spurious liquor packed in duplicate bottles of a popular Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brand, according to police. One Raees, who is being identified as the “kingpin” of the spurious liquor case, has been detained from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and is being interrogated, Superintendent of Police of State Monitoring Cell (SMC) Mayursinh Chavda told reporters.
The SMC has been handed over the investigation of the case.
“The death toll in the spurious liquor case has risen to eight, with 39 persons under treatment at the government’s Sir T Hospital and other private hospitals in the city,” Sub Divisional Magistrate Akshar Vyas said.
