21 Die Drinking Spurious Liquor In Punjab, CM Amarinder Singh Orders Magisterial Probe

CHANDIGARH: Twenty-one people have died in Punjab's three districts allegedly after drinking spurious liquor. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ordered a magisterial probe into the case on Friday.

The deaths took place in Punjab’s Amritsar, Batala and Tarn Taran districts since Wednesday night, an official statement said.

Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta said the first five fatalities were reported from Mucchal and Tangra villages in Amritsar’s Tarsikka on July 29 night.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ordered a magisterial inquiry by the Divisional Commissioner, Jalandhar, into the deaths of 21 people allegedly due to the consumption of spurious liquor, the statement read.

In another incident in Andhra Pradesh, at least ten alcohol addicts, including three beggars, died after allegedly consuming sanitiser as an alternative to liquor in a village under COVID-19 lockdown in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.

The victims of Kurichedu village had been drinking sanitiser for the past few days, mixing it with water and soft drinks, Prakasam district Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal had said.