Nadia hooch tragedy: West Bengal suspends 11 officials, hands over case to CID

KOLKATA: Hours after seven persons died following alleged consumption of spurious liquor in Bengal’s Nadia district, the West Bengal government suspended 11 officials and handed over the case to CID for investigation. 

The suspended officials are - Officer-in-charge of Santipur Circle, ex-officer in charge of Santipur circle, eight constables, deputy excise collector of Ranaghat Range. 

The West Bengal government also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the deceased.  

Six men and one woman died while several others fell sick after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Chowdhuripara, Nadia. Deceased's family members claimed that they dead had allegedly consuming spurious liquor. Police is yet to confirm the cause of death.

"Some reports suggest that this liquor was brought to Nadia from neighbouring Bihar, Jharkhand. But, CID will now carry out a thorough investigation and ensure that the guilty are brought to book," said a senior official of West Bengal Police. 

“The cause of death is yet to be known. We are waiting for the post mortem report and only then the cause of the death will be ascertained,” said Rupesh Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Nadia district. 

Locals claim that several small hubs selling country made liquor has recently surfaced in the area. People assemble in these hubs and drinking has become a major cause or concern in the local neighbourhood. 

According to reports, a group assembled at one such hub in Choudhuripara and consumed the liquor. After retiring to their homes, they felt uneasy and most of them were rushed to the Kalna Hospital in Burdwan district. 

On arrival at the hospital, four were declared dead. Three others remained critical however, all of them succumbed to illness. 

Meanwhile, police launched massive raids across the area and recovered several litres of spurious liquor. However, the main kingpin of the network is at large.