10 more die in hooch tragedy

By S. Shivakumar

CHENNAI, SEPT. 8. The hooch tragedy at Menambedu in Ambattur on the city outskirts claimed 13 lives including that of a woman. Three persons who consumed the killer brew were being treated at the Government General Hospital and their condition was stated to be serious.

The victims included the alleged bootleggers who had sold the spurious liquor among the villagers. While three persons died on Friday, the others died in hospital today.

Though the police initially claimed that the illicit liquor was brought from another area and served at a marriage party on Thursday evening, villagers alleged that it was manufactured locally and sold.

Local residents showed the spot where the illicit liquor was sold. ``If the liquor was served at the marriage party, how was it that the victims were only from our area,'' questions Mr. Sekar, a tailor of Menambedu. ``Not a single person of Arambakkam to which area the bride belongs has been affected. The marriage was only a coincidence. Many of those who have died were not even invited for the marriage,'' Mr. Chandran, another resident, said.

Menambedu is a black spot village and illicit arrack freely flowed in the area with the active connivance of the police, residents allege. The outskirts of the village are littered with empty plastic covers in which arrack had been packed. Each packet was sold at Rs. 10.

The ADGP (law and order), Mr. K. Natarajan, said they were probing the source of the killer brew. ``We will not hesitate to take action against erring police personnel if they were found at fault,'' he said.

The ADGP (PEW), Mr. Paramvir Singh, said preliminary investigation revealed that the victims had consumed rectified spirit.

Rectified spirit mixed?

The hooch tragedy was raised in the Assembly today with members including the ruling AIADMK's allies - the TMC and Left parties - demanding that the Government take firm steps to stop the flow of illicit arrack in the State.

Responding to a special calling attention notice on the deaths, the Revenue Minister, Mr. O. Pannerselvam, said preliminary investigations showed that the bootleggers, Dilli and Masilamani, who were charged in several prohibition offences cases, had mixed rectified spirit in the illicit arrack.

As prohibition was stringently enforced in Chengalpattu East range, they had brought the arrack from outside the district.

Police teams had been sent to the border districts and Andhra Pradesh to find out where the rectified spirit was bought and if there was involvement of any other person in the crime.

Earlier, the TMC-Democratic Forum MLA, Mr. B. Ranganathan, charged that police apathy was responsible for the tragedy. The TMC member, Mr. C. Gnanasekaran, called for a probe on illicit distillation in the entire State.

Mr. I. Ganesan (PMK), Mr. Polur Varadhan (Congress), and Mr. D. Mony (CPI-M) and Mr. V. Sivapunniam (CPI) demanded stringent steps to stamp out illicit distillation in the State.

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Section  : Southern States
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