Bhavnagar, Oct 1 (IANS) Gujarat Police’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) has arrested another accused in the methanol-laced liquor case in Bhavnagar district, bringing the total arrests in the case to 42, police said on Thursday.
The latest accused has been identified as Ladulal alias Ganesh Kharol, 22, a resident of Mahendragarh village under Karoi police station in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district.
He was arrested on September 30 at 6:45 p.m. with the assistance of the Rajasthan ATS. A court has granted his police custody remand until October 8.
The case relates to the consumption of methanol-laced liquor in Bhavnagar district in August, which resulted in 13 deaths, according to reports at the time. The toxic liquor had affected more than 60 people.
An FSL examination of a seized bottle found 38.59 per cent methanol and 0.94 per cent ethanol. The incident came to light after people fell ill following consumption of the liquor in the Vartej area.
The initial deaths were registered as accidental deaths, but subsequent investigation established a link with poisonous liquor containing methanol.
A case was then registered at Vartej police station against 21 people under Sections 105, 123, 61(2), 3(5), 274, 275, 345(3), 349 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita-2023 and Sections 65(A)(B)(D)(E)(F), 65A(2), 65A(3), 67(1)A, 81 and 83 of the Prohibition Act.
The investigation was subsequently handed over to the State Monitoring Cell on the directions of DGP G.S. Malik.
The agency has since expanded the probe beyond those initially named in the FIR to trace the wider supply chain involved in procuring chemicals, packaging material and other equipment used to manufacture and distribute the illicit liquor.
According to the latest police investigation, Kharol was allegedly involved in arranging the cardboard boxes, empty glass bottles, bottle caps, stickers, and other materials used to package the liquor, and in getting these items transported from different places to Bhavnagar.
Police said Kharol had been in contact with the alleged main accused, Gautam Solanki, for some time and that the two had decided to manufacture the liquor at Solanki’s house.
Kharol allegedly collected the material required to manufacture and package the illicit liquor.
After the incident, Kharol allegedly learned that people were dying after consuming the liquor and fled Gujarat. Police further alleged that while fleeing, he contacted other accused persons and asked them to destroy mobile phones and other evidence.
The State Monitoring Cell said Kharol knew the process of manufacturing the illicit liquor and allegedly participated in its manufacture for financial gain.
With his arrest, the number of people arrested in the Bhavnagar case has now reached 42. Of these, 40 are currently in judicial custody, and one is in police custody, while the latest accused has been remanded to police custody until October 8, according to the State Monitoring Cell.
Earlier reports had traced the toxic liquor to a network involving people from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Investigators had found that the liquor was packaged in bottles bearing the labels of a popular Indian-made foreign liquor brand, ‘Royal Stag’.
The investigation also established the presence of highly toxic methanol in the seized liquor.
The State Monitoring Cell is continuing its investigation into the roles of the accused and the procurement and distribution network behind the methanol-laced liquor.
–IANS
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