Spurious liquor claims 30 lives over two days in ‘dry’ Gujarat

A release from the Gujarat government Tuesday said the deaths were caused by “chemical poisoning” adding that an analysis of the substance consumed by the victims by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) Gandhinagar has revealed the presence of 98.71 per cent to 98.99 per cent methyl alcohol. The prime accused, identified as Jayesh Kavadia, worked in a chemical packaging company from where he is said to have illegally sourced the methanol.

Aarti ben Parmar, wife of Vasrambhai who died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Rojid, Botad. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

Six people, including the prime accused, were arrested after an FIR each was lodged in the police stations of Barwala and Ranpur in Botad district under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Gujarat Prohibition Act. Five more deaths from Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad district are under investigation and are recorded as accidental deaths for now, the government statement said.

The spurious liquor, also known as “lattha” in local parlance, was supplied to over a 100 people in the villages of Ahmedabad, Botad and Surendranagar, according to police.

At least 51 of them are still admitted in hospitals of Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar and the death toll is expected to rise, officials said. A team of doctors was appointed who will work in consultation with FSL officials.

Vasrambhai’s family admits that he used to consume lattha regularly. “He used to clean gutters and sewage lines in cities. What option did he have? Can anyone enter a gutter without being intoxicated? We asked him to quit several times… this dependency on lattha due to his work took his life today, leaving behind his wife and three kids,” said Kanuben Parmar, sister of Vasrambhai.

Eleven people died in Rojid, the epicentre of the tragedy, as villagers recall victims losing their eyesight and vomiting blood since Monday noon.

“Deepak was also a sanitation worker and consumed lattha with Vasrambhai on Sunday night. Around Monday noon, he complained of losing his eyesight. We took him to Sonawala hospital in Botad from where doctors referred him to the government-run Sir T Hospital in Bhavnagar where he died Monday night. He left behind his wife Manisha and two daughters,” said Madhuben Vaghela, mother of 32-year-old Deepak Vaghela from Rojid.

Of the 30 deceased, six are from Ahmedabad district and 22 are from Botad district, who are confirmed to have died of poisoning. The cause of the remaining two deaths is yet to be ascertained, as per a release from the state government.

The victims are from Rojid, Nabhoi, Chandarva and Devgana villages in Botad and Dhandhuka taluka in Ahmedabad.

In Rojid, a mass cremation was held Tuesday morning even as heavy rain battered the village. Among the 11 dead, three were from the Valmiki community, three from Devipujak and five from Thakor community.

“My father started vomiting Monday evening when we got to know many other villagers were also falling sick. He walked to the ambulance when he was taken to a Bhavnagar hospital. However, he died late Monday,” said Karan Thakor, son of 55-year-old Bhupatbhai Thakor.

While Thakor victims were cremated at the village’s crematorium, the Valmiki and Devipujak victims were cremated in farmlands, a stark reminder of deep caste fissures in the village.

Relatives of victim Vasrambhai who died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor, in Botad. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

“We don’t discriminate based on caste but each community has a tradition and they follow it,” said Dharmendra Patel, sarpanch of Rojid, a village with a population of 6,000.

It was Patel, a Congress leader, who complained to the sub-inspector at Barwala police station in March this year, seeking action against rampant selling of illicit liquor in his village.

“Even after complaining to police and naming a bootlegger from Chokdi village who was manufacturing illicit liquor, no action followed for months. This tragedy could have been averted if the police were pro-active,” said Patel.

Denying Patel’s claims, Karanraj Vaghela, superintendent of police (Botad), said, “After the sarpanch submitted a complaint, we asked a deputy superintendent-level officer to investigate. The sarpanch was twice summoned for statements but he didn’t appear. Among the six arrested, an accused Gajuben from Rojid village had 11 prohibition related cases against her.”

The SP added that 489 litres of methanol chemical was seized. “We appeal to the villagers of Botad to come forward and report to police and health officials if they have consumed spurious liquor. We will not book them… they require urgent medical assistance,” added Vaghela.

Patel said in response, “My job was to provide information to police… What else do they expect me to do. Police were not able to catch even a single bootlegger from Botad since March.”

Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi announced a three-member committee headed by Inspector General of Police Subhash Trivedi to probe the incident and submit a report in three days. The probe has been handed over to Ahmedabad Crime Branch and Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), two premier police agencies in Gujarat.

According to Ahmedabad Police’s Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) officials, the main accused has been identified as Jayesh Kavadia from Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad district.

“Jayesh has been working for the past four years at the Amos Corporation, a chemical company located at Devraj Industrial Park at Piplaj in Ahmedabad, as a labour contractor. His job was bottling and crimping of methanol chemical from barrels into 2.5 litres glass bottles. For the past 3-4 months, Jayesh had kept three barrels containing 600 litres of methanol for himself and supplied it to Sanjay Kumarkhania in Dabhoi of Botad,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.

The officer added that the chemical was exchanged at a deserted spot near a canal at Bhalgamda village in Botad. “Sanjay paid Rs 40,000 to Jayesh for the three barrels. We have arrested Jayesh Khavadia and his accomplice Dinesh alias Bunty and handed them over to Botad police,” the officer added.