Spurious liquor claims 5 lives in Punjab; probe on

PATIALA: In a devastating turn of events, the village of Gujran in Dirba, Sangrur, was rocked by tragedy as five lives were claimed, allegedly due to the consumption of spurious liquor. Additionally, the tragedy has left five persons hospitalised due to the consumption of the same.
The police have registered a case against and apprehended three accused individuals from the village for allegedly supplying spurious liquor.
The deceased, identified as Bhola Singh (50), Nirmal Singh (42), Pargat Singh (42), and Jagjit Singh (30), all hailing from Gujran village, succumbed to the toxic effects of the illicit brew. While the police initially speculated that one of the deceased might have succumbed to a pre-existing respiratory ailment, the overarching narrative pointed towards the deadly repercussions of consuming adulterated alcohol.
Sangrur deputy commissioner Jatinder Jorwal stated, “We have formed a five-member committee to probe the matter and the committee will submit the report within 72 hours. We received the information about the tragedy on Wednesday morning. The exact cause of death will be ascertained only after postmortem is conducted”.
The police revealed that the two accused, identified as Manpreet Singh alias Mani and Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukhi, of the same village have been arrested. It was disclosed that the accused individuals who supplied the spurious liquor were also neighbors of the deceased.
SHO Dirba, inspector Gurmeet Singh, said, "Both the accused, aged in late twenties, are history sheeters with around three to four cases registered against them under IPC sections and under sections of Excise act. We have arrested both these accused under section 302 (murder), 34 (common intention) of IPC and section 61 of Excise Act in the current tragedy".
The district administration has formed a five-member committee comprising the Dirba SDM Rajesh Kumar, senior medical officer Dirba, station house officer (SHO) Dirba Gurmeet Singh, and DSP Dirba Prithvi Singh Chahal to investigate the matter and unravel the circumstances surrounding the tragic deaths, holding those responsible accountable for their actions.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death, providing crucial insights into the ongoing investigation. One of the three hospitalized victims has been transferred to the government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, whereas the two others are under observation at Sangrur Civil Hospital.
Notably, in April last year, three persons namely Chamkaur Singh, Gurtej Singh, and Gurmel Singh of Namol village in Sunam, Sangrur, died after consuming ethanol at night, and their bodies were recovered the next morning at their homes. All three deceased individuals were working as laborers and painters and were allegedly supplied the ethanol by some local residents.
Sangrur Deputy Commissioner claimed that one more has succumbed to toxic effects of spurious liquor taking the toll to five whereas three more were hospitalized after being reported unwell due to liquor consumption. Meanwhile the police have nabbed one more accused and identified him as Gurlal Singh of Ubhewal village.
"The person who was shifted to government Rajindra hospital after being referred for higher institute following his eyes bleeding, has succumbed to toxic liquor effects. The death toll has reached five including the one suspicious death. So far, five persons are hospitalized and undergoing treatment. We have arrested three persons including Gurlal Singh of Ubhewal village which is at around 20 km from Gujran village. All the five deceased and five hospitalized hails from Gujran village", said SHO Dirba, Inspector Gurmeet Singh.