Tamil Nadu hooch tragedy: Main suspect was held 10 days ago but was let off

CHENNAI: The main suspect in the Kallakurichi hooch tragecy, Govindaraj alias Kannukutti, was arrested for illegal sale of liquor bottles just days ago. But he was let off immediately as only 11 liquor bottles, each of of 180ml, were seized from him.
Govindaraj is not a stranger to arrests, as he had a track record of selling liquor illegally. He had previously been detained under Goondas Act as well.However, this is the first time he has been caught for causing the death of his customers.
Now, he, along with his wife Vijaya and another person Thamodhiran, has been arrested for the death of about 40 p eople a t Karunapuram in Kallakurichi.
The investigation team suspects the role two more suspects -Vidyur Raja and Chinnadurai – in bringing hooch from villages located on Kalvarayan Hills and retailing it to Govindharaj. Police said only senior ci tizens, physically challenged and women are made to sell hooch in retail, so that police cannot resort to stringent investigation methods and keep them under control. Even among the trio arrested in this case, Thamodhiran is physically challenged, while Govindharaj has undergone bypass surgery.
As for the suspended police personnel, sources said they had been transferred and posted in Kallakurichi only during the parliamentary elections. They were supposed to return to their original jurisdiction next week. The PEW team managed to destroy 80,000 litres of arrack in the last three months and detained three people -Venkatesan, Kamaraj and Vijaya -under Goondas Act. While Venkatesan and Kamaraj, who have more than 10 cases pending against them, brought the hooch from Kalvarayan hills, Vijaya was a notorious distributor in the town, police said.