At least 18 people have lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor in Gujarat where prohibition is in force, officially. The death toll is expected to increase with more than 20 people undergoing treatment in hospitals of Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and Botad districts. Some are believed to be in critical condition.
A special investigation team has been formed to look into the incident. According to reports, the police have arrested two people, who allegedly bought chemicals from a factory in Ahmedabad, to add in the liquor.
In the small village of Rojid in Bhavnagar district, there is hardly anyone to console each other. Aartiben, who lost her husband, told a section of the media that her husband came home drunk on Sunday night and started vomiting on Monday morning. He is also reported to have fallen down twice and complained of blurred vision. More or less, others too had similar symptoms and were admitted to different hospitals.
The tragedy occurred despite the sarpanch of the village warning the police earlier this year. In a letter written to the police in March, the sarpanch had requested a stop to the illegal sale of liquor. Mentioning about the anti-social activities going on in the village, he had also feared a tragedy was waiting to happen.
In an election year, such a tragedy is the last thing that the ruling BJP would want.
Even as the BJP leaders in Gujarat have remained silent on their social handles, the opposition has been quick to react that the tragedy has exposed the failure of prohibition in the state.
Former Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda was one of the first to react. Taking to social media, he demanded resignation of minister of state for home Harsh Sanghavi, and held that the free flow of liquor is due to corruption.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who landed in Porbandar on Monday evening on a two-day visit of Gujarat, said that it was obvious that those selling liquor have political protection. People know that liquor is freely available, he added, demanding that a probe be conducted about where the money goes.
