Days after Amritsar hooch tragedy, 3 die after consuming liquor in Ludhiana

Following the Amritsar hooch tragedy that claimed 27 lives earlier this month, three persons died after allegedly consuming liquor at Basti Jodhewal here, the police said on Thursday.

The victims, identified as labourers Rinku (40), Debi (27) and Mangoo (32), drank liquor at a vacant plot along the Noorwala Road on Wednesday night. Shortly after, they lost consciousness and began frothing at the mouth. They were rushed to the local Civil Hospital, where doctors declared them dead.

Senior Medical Officer Dr Harpreet Singh said the exact cause of death would be determined only after the post-mortem report.  Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma confirmed that the liquor consumed by the victims was “Raspberry”, a kind of desi liquor. “Samples have been collected and sent for lab analysis,” he said, adding that an FIR had been registered against the liquor shop owner.

Sources said it remained unclear whether the liquor was spurious or if the victims had mixed it with another substance. An Excise Department official too questioned whether the liquor alone was responsible, noting that no other customers who purchased from the same batch reported issues. “Had it been spurious, the toll would have been higher. They may have mixed drugs with the liquor,” the official said.

Meanwhile, the back-to-back incidents have raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the AAP government’s anti-drug campaign, ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’.  Opposition leaders have seized the opportunity to attack the government.

Pritpal Singh Baliawal, BJP’s state spokesperson, slammed the AAP government. “While families are shattered, the Punjab Government is busy with PR stunts. Their so-called war on drugs exists only on paper. On the ground, the drug and liquor mafia operates freely. Is this the ‘rangla Punjab’ Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann promised?”

Punjab