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Journalism of Courage
The death toll in the hooch tragedy mounted to 95 on Thursday with the police rounding up scores of bootleggers and sealing liquor dens statewide.
With more victims who had consumed the methanol-laced liquor in Odhav and Majoor Gam areas on Tuesday being admitted to government hospitals,state Health Minister Jay Narayan Vyas announced free treatment for all patients.
Anger spilled out on the streets with people protesting against the police and governments inability to curb bootlegging in a state where sale and consumption of liquor is banned. Irate residents vandalised a total of seven buses in Odhav,Viratnagar and Amraiwadi areas and pelted police vans with stones. Demonstrations were staged and effigies of state Home Minister Amit Shah burnt across the city. A tight police bandobast was in place in Odhav where residents had called a bandh. Similar protests were staged in Naroda,Amraiwadi and Ramol areas in the city. Police resorted to mild lathicharge to bring the situation under control and detained 78 people as a preventive measure.
The Opposition Congress members,meanwhile,created uproarious scenes in the Assembly for the second day on Thursday after being denied permission by Speaker Ashok Bhatt to debate the hooch tragedy.
Seven Congress MLAs,who created a ruckus and even broke the microphone system,were placed under suspension for the rest of the Budget session by the Speaker. Those suspended are Lalsinh Vadodaria,Chandrika Baria,Amit Chavda,Shailesh Parmar,Kunwarji Halpati,C K Raulji and Ashwin Kotwal. Besides suspension,Vadodaria,Baria and Chavda were also charged with causing damage to six mikes. The Speaker imposed a fine of Rs 48,000 at the rate of Rs 8,000 per mike,plus Rs3,600 as repair charges on them.
