Death toll in Haryana's spurious liquor case climbs to 20

Yamunanagar: With two more people losing their lives, the death toll in a suspected case of consuming spurious liquor in Haryana has risen to 20, officials said on Monday.

The two deaths were reported in Yamunanagar in the last 48 hours, where 16 people had died earlier while two died in Ambala.

Police said 14 people have been arrested in the case, including two from Ambala.

Police had earlier asked villagers not to consume liquor whose source of procurement they were unaware of.

The deaths so far have taken place in villages, including Mandebari, Panjeto Ka Majra and Saran in Yamunanagar.

On Monday, state Congress chief Udai Bhan visited the house of a victim in Mandebari village and met his kin.

Later, talking to reporters, Bhan said the Congress demands probe into the suspected spurious liquor deaths by a sitting judge of the high court.

This is not for the first time that such an incident has occurred as only a few years ago, many lives were lost due to spurious liquor in the state, he alleged.

He further alleged that on the day when some spurious liquor deaths were reported in Yamunanagar, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was holding a Jan Samvad programme in the district, but he did not go to meet the victim families.

"An illegal liquor factory was running in the Ambala district, the home district of state minister Anil Vij, but he did not know what was happening right under his nose," he said.

Bhan demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.

The Aam Aadmi Party has also demanded a probe by a sitting judge of the high court in the matter.

Earlier, the Yamunanagar police formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter.

Haryana Cabinet Minister Kanwar Pal had earlier said the guilty will not be spared and a strict action will be taken against them.