Sagar, Sep 10 — A day after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav ordered a judicial inquiry into the Sagar spurious liquor tragedy and gave authorities a free hand to act against those responsible, the district administration on Thursday launched a bulldozer drive against properties and encroachments allegedly linked to the accused.
Five structures, including houses and godowns belonging to prime accused Chandrabhan Singh Rajput alias Chandu and two other accused, Manish Lodhi and Ashish Sahu, were demolished in Sagar district, according to official information.
The action came after Chief Minister Yadav visited Sagar on Wednesday, soon after returning from Dubai, to review the situation following the deaths of 15 people after consumption of suspected spurious liquor.
The Chief Minister ordered a judicial inquiry to ensure an impartial probe and fix responsibility for the tragedy.
He also directed officials to take stringent action against those involved in the alleged illicit liquor network.
Sagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Anurag Sujaniya said that 16 accused have been arrested so far in two FIRs registered at Banda and Vinayaka police stations, while 17 others are absconding.
Chandrabhan, a resident of Tatarwara village, has emerged as the prime accused in the case, the Sagar SP added.
Police said the investigation has revealed that counterfeit liquor was allegedly manufactured in agricultural fields at Tatarwara ahead of the Krishna Janmashtami festival and supplied to nearby villages at cheaper rates.
Around 50 cases of liquor carrying the 'Sagar Gold' brand were allegedly prepared using spirit, packaging material and wrappers supplied by Lodhi and Ravi Lakhera, police said.
The liquor was allegedly supplied through salesmen to Nauraj, Gugra, Patan, Chhapri and other nearby villages.
Police have seized more than 252 litres of illicit liquor in the two cases, besides empty bottles, caps, labels and other material allegedly used in manufacturing and packaging the liquor.
Sujaniya said the accused allegedly tried to destroy the remaining spurious liquor and manufacturing material after deaths began to be reported, but timely police raids helped recover a substantial quantity.
One of the accused, Ram Singh, who allegedly supplied the liquor at cheap rates, also died after consuming the spurious liquor, police said.
Police have announced a reward of Rs 20,000 each for information leading to the arrest of Lodhi alias Yashwant Thakur and Lakhera, while a reward of Rs 10,000 each has been announced for the remaining absconding accused.