The number of deaths due to toxic liquor continued to rise as four more people lost their lives during the past 24 hours in Hyderabad.
Two of the deceased, 45-year-old Imtiaz Gadahi and 35-year-old Nazakat Gadahi alias Babu, died in a civil hospital on Sunday – a day after they were admitted to a hospital while 40-year-old Mewo Bheel and Ramzan Sipio succumbed to the toxic liquor’s effect on Saturday.
Dozens of people died after consuming toxic liquor earlier this month, days before Eidul Azha. The mortality figures compelled the police to take action against the liquor sellers and hundreds of them were arrested and dozens were nominated in FIRs registered with separate police stations.
DIG Hyderabad Dr Sanaullah Abbassi also suspended five SHOs and posted 48 policemen, most of them constables, allegedly involved in recovering bribes from the liquor and narcotics sellers.
SP Qasimabad and Rural Tehsils Haider Raza while confirming the deaths told a local newspaper that he had reverted the concerned SHO and the police were hunting for the vendors. “We are also trying to persuade the families to lodge a police case so that the criminals who sell such poisonous substances are punished with capital punishment (section 302 of the PPC).”
The vendors are booked under PEHO sections 3/4 which brings a punishment of hardly up to six months in jail. The Hyderabad police lodged around three dozen FIRs in separate police stations but only one of them included Section 302 of the PPC. That case was registered against the suspect Bachal Magsi and his accomplices from whose property the police recovered a 7,000 liters of harmful methyl chemical used in preparation of the toxic liquor.
According to the civil hospital’s medico legal officer Dr Baldev, the two deaths at the hospital were not referred to their section. “We didn’t receive any body for post-mortem of liquor effects,” Baldev said.
He also denied having received any letter from the district police about conducting the autopsy on the deceased with the liquor symptoms. The police, however, claim that they have already written to the hospital authorities in this regard.