Following the deaths of 15-18 people in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad due to spurious liquor, the Maharashtra government has suspended 22 police and excise department personnel for failing to act against the illegal liquor trade. Financial assistance has been announced for the victims' families, and a statewide crackdown on illicit liquor is underway.
The Maharashtra excise department has arrested over 210 people and registered 313 cases in a five-day crackdown on illicit liquor manufacturing and sales in Thane, Palghar, and Raigad districts. This intensified action follows the Pune hooch tragedy, which claimed at least 15 lives, leading to the seizure of property worth Rs 1.58 crore and the suspension of 22 police and excise personnel.
The Maharashtra excise department has arrested over 210 people and registered 313 cases in a five-day crackdown on illicit liquor manufacturing and sales in Thane, Palghar, and Raigad districts. This intensified action follows the Pune hooch tragedy, which claimed at least 15 lives, leading to the seizure of property worth Rs 1.58 crore and the suspension of 22 police and excise personnel.
'The prohibition regime has been accompanied by concerns regarding the expansion of the illicit liquor trade, increased enforcement challenges and corruption, and the growing use of alternative intoxicants, including illicit drugs.'
Delhi police have dismantled an illegal liquor supply network operating through an online delivery application, arresting two individuals and seizing illicit liquor transported from Haryana.
A research paper by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) recommends that Bihar revoke its alcohol ban, citing its failure to reduce violence against women and a rise in illicit drug and alcohol consumption. The report suggests that reinstating the liquor excise tax would significantly increase state revenues and decrease enforcement costs.
'If somebody wants to finish the country and more particularly from the border state, they will start with the borders. Every extra caution should be taken to save the country. Tell your government to be very serious. They have to take every effort to save the country, it is very easy to ruin the youth'
A hooch tragedy in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, has claimed 11 lives, with investigations pointing to a suspected link with cheaper spurious liquor supplied from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. This incident echoes previous tragedies in the Bundelkhand region, highlighting the ongoing issue of cross-border alcohol trade.
Delhi Police arrested 40 people and apprehended a juvenile in Rohini during an overnight drive targeting organised and street crime, seizing illegal arms, narcotics, and illicit liquor.
Authorities in southwest Delhi demolished illegal constructions allegedly linked to drug peddling in the Najafgarh area. The action was conducted in areas under Baba Haridas Nagar in Dwarka, where structures outside residential houses were being used for illegal sale and distribution of narcotics.
Police in Deoria arrested two individuals and seized a large consignment of illegal English liquor being smuggled to Bihar. The liquor was found hidden in a truck, and a case has been registered under the Excise Act as authorities investigate the smuggling network.
Haryana Police launched 'Operation Aakraman-21' across the state, resulting in numerous arrests and seizures of drugs, illicit liquor, and illegal arms.
Five years after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar imposed total prohibition in Bihar, the liquor mafia continues to thrive, reports MI Khan.
The Excise and Taxation Department, with the assistance of local police, dismantled an illegal liquor racket operating in the Pratapnagar area, recovering 170 boxes of alcohol.
The Maharashtra excise department seized Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) worth Rs 11.39 lakh in Palghar district, leading to the arrest of three persons. Three vehicles worth Rs 21 lakh were also seized in the operations.
As the election nears, political positions on prohibition are shifting.
Voters are weighing a stark trade-off -- between preserving a socially driven policy and reversing course to revive revenue, restore fiscal balance, and rein in the underground liquor economy.
Post-mortems of 16 more suspected hooch victims were conducted here in the last two days, raising their number to 87, but authorities on Wednesday kept the official death toll in tragedy pegged at 35.
The much-hyped liquor ban in the state has been widely seen as a failed attempt five years after its introduction.
Odisha Police seized nearly 3,500 litres of diesel and arrested one person for illegally procuring materials from ships anchored in deep sea areas near Paradeep. The operation uncovered a network involved in unauthorised exchanges of fuel and other suspicious commodities.
Four times more liquor has been seized in the 2024 election than during the 2019 polls.
A bill providing for up to capital punishment to those manufacturing or trading illicit liquor in the event of hooch tragedy was on Wednesday unanimously passed by both Bihar legislature which also adopted a resolution unanimously that its members will not consume liquor.
In order to stop the production and sale of illicit liquor, Maharashtra government is considering a proposal to amend the existing law.
So far, the maximum 83 deaths have taken place in Tarn Taran district, followed by 14 in Batala and 13 in Amritsar. The tragedy has been unfolding since Wednesday evening in the three districts.
The ED said its investigation also revealed that from 2019 to 2022, the sale of 'unaccounted illicit' liquor was almost 30-40 per cent of the total liquor sale in the state.
Police said they have made five arrests in the incident. Those arrested have been identified as Prabhjit Singh, the main accused, Kulbir Singh, Sahib Singh, Gurjant Singh and Ninder Kaur, they said.
This is the second liquor tragedy in this district in recent days.
Empty bottles of liquor were discovered inside the premises of the legislature in dry Bihar, in a fresh embarrassment to the Nitish Kumar government in the state, which has been drawing flak over recent hooch tragedies that have claimed more than 40 lives.
Sale and consumption of alcohol was completely banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April, 2016.
Prohibition is resulting in prisons getting overcrowded.
The tragedy took a political hue with CM Yogi Adityanath suggesting the involvement of SP in 'such mischievous acts'.
The Bihar assembly plunged into turmoil on Saturday when the opposition sought to raise the issue of alleged involvement of revenue and land reforms minister Ram Surat Rai in illicit liquor trade, forcing adjournment of the House around noon till lunch.
The prime suspect in the illicit liquor tragedy, which claimed 170 lives in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, reportedly committed suicide while the kingpin of the hooch trade, Sounder Rajan, was arrested with his wife and daughter-in-law, the police said on Thursday. Investigations took a new turn in the liquor tragedy case as the police recovered the body of Mustu alias Mushtaq from Bangalore Rural district's Kattigenahalli, who reportedly committed suicide by consuming poison
Firming up plans to drastically reduce availability of liquor, the Congress-led United Democratic Front government on Tuesday decided to issue notices to hoteliers below the five-star category to shut their bars by September 12.
Eighteen more people lost their lives after allegedly consuming illicit liquor in dry Bihar's Siwan and Saran districts, taking the toll in the tragedy to 24, officials said on Thursday.
A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking an independent probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into a recent hooch tragedy in Bihar, in which at least 30 people have lost their lives.
The toll in Mumbai's worst hooch tragedy rose to 102 on Monday with the death of five more victims who consumed spurious liquor in Malad area and another 46 are in hospitals with eight of them struggling to survive serious ill-effects of the killer brew.
"It is very wrong and condemnable that Gurmehar has tried to do politics over her father's martyrdom," Vij, a five-time MLA said.
Of the 11 people allegedly involved, seven are women and four men, including juveniles. While the seven women have been arrested, police are trying to ascertain the age of the two others picked up, officials said.
A case of murder has been registered against six persons and one of the accused is also a Dalit.
