The orders are learnt to have gone from directing officials to stop its sale, seize suspected stock and send it for forensic testing to saying within hours that “no other action is required”.
The changing stance of the excise department becomes particularly significant in light of Excise Commissioner Deepak Saxena’s admission to The Indian Express that the suspension of four officials in the case was based on their inaction after early warnings were raised at least three days before the deaths surfaced.
Twelve died, and several were hospitalised after allegedly consuming illicit liquor in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district on Saturday. Police investigation has since uncovered a suspected interstate supply chain linked to Lalitpur in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, with 14 of 30 accused arrested and three FIRs registered on complaints by victims’ families.
The tragedy has already prompted action against Excise officials, with three officials suspended and another senior officer removed from the Sagar setup. The government has also ordered an inquiry, while police have widened their investigation into the suspected supply network.
The warnings
The excise department is now probing allegations on whether an early warning about a suspected counterfeit-liquor network was missed at multiple levels before the alleged spurious liquor reached consumers in Sagar’s Banda area.
According to officials, the first warning came through a newspaper report published on September 3. An official communication issued two days later – and which The Indian Express has accessed — said the government foreign liquor warehouse in Sagar examined two bottles featured in the report after the matter was brought to its
attention.
On September 5, the Government Foreign Liquor Warehouse in Sagar is learnt to have submitted its report to the Assistant Excise Commissioner after a local newspaper questioned the quality of locally supplied liquor. The excise department was informed that the two bottles of ‘Bombay Whiskey’ brand “conform to packaging standards” and were fit for consumption, officials said. It also allegedly identified the manufacturer and said the bottles had been supplied through the government warehouse to composite liquor shops in Sagar and Damoh.
The report, however, was learnt to have been based on examination of the bottles shown in the report rather than a wider field investigation – something that Commissioner Saxena has now acknowledged.
The next day, when the first deaths were reported, the tone of the administration appears to have changed sharply. An order issued by the Assistant Excise Commissioner, Jabalpur, on September 6 directed all liquor shops that had received Sagar Gold to be thoroughly inspected.
The order specifically directed officials to ensure that Sagar Gold was not sold, and said that any suspected stock found at a liquor shop should be “immediately sealed and seized.” It further ordered that the liquor be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory and that its sale remain completely prohibited until its purity was established.
This order was partially revised within hours, with authorities withdrawing stringent directions issued earlier over the sale of Sagar Gold liquor and stating that “no other action is required”.
The revised order, issued by Assistant Excise Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar Dubey, says the Jabalpur control room had reported that the presence of Sagar Gold in the district was “negligible”. The department amended its earlier order of the same date.
“All Assistant District Excise Officers and Excise Sub-Inspectors are directed to conduct routine inspections of the liquor shops under their jurisdiction and take effective action in areas identified for the manufacture of illicit/country liquor. No other action is required,” the order read.
‘No field visit’
Commissioner Saxena told the Indian Express that the suspended officials relied on photographs of the bottles, including their paint and other features, to establish their authenticity instead of a field verification.
“They had conducted the verification based on photographs of the bottles and had reported that everything was correct and that the liquor had originated from our premises. I believe they should have gone to the field and conducted an inspection,” he said. “Now it is clear that counterfeit Sagar
Gold was found in the field. They had not gone to the field, and that is why I have suspended them. Had they reached the field, they could have detected it and caught it in time?”
Saxena also said the failure was particularly serious because the liquor was already being sold and information about the suspected irregularity had surfaced. “The liquor was being sold, and a complaint had also come to light, yet they could not detect it,” he said.
For the Excise Department, Saxena said enforcement had now been stepped up across the state.
“We don’t have check posts. Our focus is to ensure that people are encouraged to buy liquor from licensed outlets and that their confidence in the licensed system is maintained. Wherever illegal liquor is being sold, action will be taken,” he said.
“We have readied the entire flying squad for this purpose and have issued directions to all deputy commissioners today. They will also keep continuous surveillance on the issue,” the official said.
At least 12 people died in Sagar after allegedly consuming illicit liquor, with investigators tracing the suspected supply chain to a Lalitpur-based operation in Uttar Pradesh. (Express Photo) 
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