Gujarat Police arrest 13 more in Bhavnagar hooch case, total rises to 27
Sixteen police teams have been deployed across five states to trace the supply of chemicals and equipment used to produce the liquor
Gujarat Police have arrested 13 more people in connection with the Bhavnagar hooch tragedy that claimed 13 lives, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 27.
The latest arrests include Anand Chhandi, a resident of Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district, who allegedly played a key role in manufacturing the spurious liquor and procuring the chemicals used in it, officials said on Tuesday.
The State Monitoring Cell (SMC) made the arrests on Sunday following the interrogation of 14 suspects detained earlier. The latest accused have been remanded in police custody until 2 September.
Thirteen people died after consuming the toxic liquor, which had been filled into bottles carrying the label of a popular Indian-made foreign liquor brand. Officials said 67 people had consumed the adulterated alcohol.
A forensic examination found that the liquor contained 38.59 per cent methanol and just 0.94 per cent ethanol. Methanol is a highly toxic industrial chemical that can cause blindness, organ damage and death when consumed.
The SMC has deployed 16 teams across Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to trace the supply chain and gather evidence.
Investigators are attempting to establish the source of the methanol and other chemicals, identify the transporters involved and trace everyone connected with procuring and moving the raw materials.
Police are also examining where the equipment used to seal the bottles was obtained and who supplied it.
The spurious liquor was allegedly manufactured at the home of Gautam Solanki in Vartej, Bhavnagar. Police said Raees, who was arrested in Ujjain, and his assistant Zuber procured raw materials from Ahmedabad and prepared the liquor at Solanki’s residence.
The mixture was allegedly packed into bottles resembling those of a recognised IMFL brand before being supplied to bootleggers for distribution.
The case came to light after three friends consumed the liquor in Vartej on the night of 16 August. All three fell ill, and one of them, Upendrasinh Gohil, subsequently died. Tests on his blood sample detected methanol, prompting a wider investigation as further deaths and hospitalisations were reported.
According to the FIR registered at Vartej police station on 19 August, Solanki told investigators that he had met Raees through a mutual acquaintance.
Another alleged participant, Narendra Yadav from Madhya Pradesh, died after consuming the liquor he had helped prepare, police said.
Investigators believe the illegal operation was primarily motivated by financial gain. Teams have also travelled to Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, from where some of the raw materials are suspected to have been supplied.
The accused have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Gujarat Prohibition Act on charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, adulteration and poisoning.
Gujarat prohibits the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol.
With PTI inputs