They consumed Methanol, not alcohol: Gujarat Police after over 30 die after consuming methanol sold as alcohol
The police said that it is wrong to call it a hooch tragedy as villagers consumed poisonous substances, namely Methanol, that were being sold as alcohol.
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Ahmedabad, July 28: Gujarat Police confirmed that over 30 people died and more than 60 are admitted to hospitals after villagers of Batod consumed poisonous chemicals under pretext of it being an alcoholic beverage.
Around 60 people are still admitted and are under treatment at hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad & Ahmedabad. The incident started on Monday, when reports about the hooch tragedy emerged with several residents of Botad and nearby villages being admitted to government hospitals with ill health.
Gujarat Home Department formed a 3-person committee to probe the case extensively, chaired by senior IPS officer Subhash Trivedi, and has directed the committee to produce a report within 3 days. According to a police inquiry, Jayesh alias Raju, a manager at an Ahmedabad godown, stole 600 liters of methyl alcohol on July 25 and sold it to his Botad-based cousin Sanjay for Rs 40,000.
Despite knowing it was an industrial solvent, Sanjay sold it to bootleggers from Botad. These bootleggers combined water with the chemical and sold it to the public as home-brewed booze. Authorities claim that forensic testing proved the victims drank methyl alcohol.
To note, the Botad and Ahmedabad police have filed two FIRs under Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder), 328 (causing bodily harm by poison), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) against 20 suspects. SP Batod meanwhile also informed that 10 accused have been nabbed and the police are investigating the matter to nab the other accused.
However, the police are saying that it is wrong to call it a hooch tragedy as villagers consumed poisonous substances that were being sold as alcohol. “Villagers consumed chemicals, it’s a chemical tragedy”, SP Batod said on July 27.
“We took immediate action. More than 10 villages affected, we found people who consumed this chemical. At present, 60 people admitted while 30 deaths occurred in Botad district”, he added. Some of the deceased were residents of the nearby Dhandhuka taluka in Ahmedabad while other belonged to villages from Batod.
Around 60 people are still admitted and are under treatment at hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad & Ahmedabad. The incident started on Monday, when reports about the hooch tragedy emerged with several residents of Botad and nearby villages being admitted to government hospitals with ill health.
Police lodged the primary investigations to discover that some inexperienced bootleggers in villages of the Botad district had prepared fake alcohol by mixing water with the highly poisonous industrial solvent methyl alcohol, or Methanol, and sold it to the villagers at a minimal rate of Rs 20.
Despite knowing it was an industrial solvent, Sanjay sold it to bootleggers from Botad. These bootleggers combined water with the chemical and sold it to the public as home-brewed booze. Authorities claim that forensic testing proved the victims drank methyl alcohol.
To note, the Botad and Ahmedabad police have filed two FIRs under Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder), 328 (causing bodily harm by poison), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) against 20 suspects. SP Batod meanwhile also informed that 10 accused have been nabbed and the police are investigating the matter to nab the other accused.
