Punjab hooch Case: CM orders suspension and inquiry against 7 excise and taxation officials, 6 police officers
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday ordered suspension and inquiry against 7 Excise and Taxation Officers and Inspectors, along with two DSPs and four SHOs of Punjab Police, in connection with the hooch case, which has so far claimed 86 lives in the three districts of Tarn Taran, Amritsar Rural and Gurdaspur.
He has also announced Rs 2 lakhs ex-gratia compensation to each of the families of the deceased, most of whom are from Tarn Taran, which accounts for 63 deaths, followed by Amritsar Rural 12 and Gurdaspur (Batala) 11.
Strict action will be taken against any public servant or others found complicit in the case, said the Chief Minister. Also, he described the police and the Excise Department's failure to check the manufacturing and sale of spurious liquor as shameful. Nobody will be allowed to get away with feeding poison to our people, he added.
The Chief Minister warned those indulging in spurious liquor business to stop immediately or face grave consequences. He said he had directed the police to trace the culprits and charge all the people involved in the case, which he had yesterday ordered a magisterial inquiry by a Divisional Commissioner, who has been asked to submit his report within a month.
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Such illegal acts are not acceptable, he said, asserting that the life of every single Punjabi was precious and he will not let people dying to the greed of a few criminals. The death of even a single Punjabi, be it due to COVID or illicit liquor consumption, was unfortunate, said the Chief Minister, adding that the “life of every Punjabi is important to me.”
-PTC News
