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The death toll due to the suspected consumption of spurious liquor in Punjab's Sangrur district has climbed to 20, officials said on Saturday.
Following this, a four-member special investigation team (SIT), led by an additional director general of police (ADGP) rank officer, has been set up to probe the case. "A four-member SIT headed by ADGP Law & Order Gurinder Dhillon IPS, and including DIG Patiala Range Harcharan Bhullar IPS, SSP Sangrur Sartaj Chahal IPS & Additional Commissioner (Excise) Naresh Dubey will supervise the investigations," Punjab police said in a post on X. "SIT will go to the bottom of the conspiracy. No person found involved will be spared. Appeal to everyone to maintain peace and harmony. Don't fall prey to unverified rumours," reads the post. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India sought an immediate report from the Punjab Chief Secretary and DGP in the Sangrur hooch tragedy through the Punjab CEO. According to the commission's information, around 20 people have died and 20 others are under treatment in various hospitals in Sangrur and Patiala districts. Congress' Partap Bajwa has questioned CM Bhagwant Mann for the incident. "..People have died by consuming illicit liquor in the Dirba assembly segment, which is being represented by the Punjab Excise Minister, Harpal Cheema himself. Dirba comes under Sangrur, the home district of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. However, the AAPgovt has failed miserably to fix the responsibility. It has kept mum on the issue. Not even a single word has been uttered by Cheema and Mann, which is a height of brazenness. Meanwhile, the onus is on Punjab CM to hold the Excise Minister responsible and ask for his resignation" he posted on X on March 21. Former Punjab minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the chief minister must take moral responsibility for this tragedy. "The death toll in Sangrur hooch tragedy has reached 20. But still this has not moved the Punjab CM. Instead of visiting the aggrieved families & extending them all type of help they need in this hour of crisis, the CM is busy in Delhi supporting his boss, Arvind Kejriwal who has been arrested by the ED in Delhi excise policy scam," Cheema said in a post on X. The post further read, "Even a high-level judicial inquiry has not been ordered to identify the culprits behind this man-made tragedy. The CM must take the moral responsibility for this hooch tragedy which took place in his home district of Sangrur and must step down from the post of CM Punjab." Earlier, police made four arrests in the case. The four accused were identified as Sukhvinder alias Sukhi and Manpreet alias Manni from Village Gujran, Gulaal Singh from Village Umrewal, and Harmanpreet Singh from Village Taipur. (ANI)
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