Pune: The spurious liquor death toll spiralled to 15 in Pimpri Chinchwad and Pune city on Friday, while nine people, including Yogesh Vhankade, who allegedly mixed methanol into country-made alcohol, were arrested for the tragedy.Four of the deaths were reported between late Thursday night and early Friday morning from the Hadapsar area. Another five casualties were in Pimpri. Six deaths were reported on Thursday. The Pimpri Chinchwad police had debunked the alleged “deaths due to spurious liquor” on Thursday night.The CID was ordered to probe the liquor death tragedy on Friday evening. “We have received an order from the state DGP office to take over the investigation of the cases registered with the Pimpri Chinchwad and Pune police commissionerates,” said additional director general of police (CID) Sunil Ramanand.Taking serious note of the tragedy in the morning, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai, ““The incident is akin to murder. Hence, stringent sections will be applied against those responsible for these deaths. Prima facie, it appears that a methanol-like substance was used in making the illicit liquor. The police will provide more details after further investigation.”Fadnavis said the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad police, along with teams from the state excise department, were conducting joint operations. “The investigating authorities have unearthed the den where the illicit liquor was prepared. Eight people have been arrested so far (another arrest was made later in the evening). The police will identify the entire network and its kingpin,” he said.Two separate cases were registered with the Dapodi and the Hadapsar police on Friday in connection with the spurious liquor deaths. The accused were charged under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 123 (causing hurt by means of poison with intent to commit an offence), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 275 (sale of noxious food or drink) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act.Additional director general of police (CID) Ramanand told TOI in the evening, “We have dispatched teams to Hadapsar and Dapodi to collect samples and other evidence. We will communicate with the other state government agencies probing the case with the police.”Pune commissioner of police (CP) Amitesh Kumar said there were four suspected deaths in the Hadapsar area. Prima facie, the deaths appeared to have been due to alcohol intoxication, he said.“The viscera has been preserved after the post-mortem of the victims. The samples have been sent to the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL). The exact cause of their death can be ascertained after we get the report,” the Pune CP said.Sandip Atole, deputy commissioner of police (Zone I), Pimpri Chinchwad, told TOI that the police arrested six people, while the state excise department arrested three others in connection with the manufacture, distribution and sale of the spurious liquor. “The arrested accused have been remanded in police custody till June 8,” he said.Besides Vhankade, the police arrested Karnail Singh Virka (73), his wife wife Inderjeet Kaur Virka (60), their his son Gurumangat Singh Virka (45), Radheshyam Prajapati (35) and Kalpesh Agarwal (29). The excise department arrested Akash Jadhav, Irfan Qureshi and Aryan Dhotre.Explaining the supply trail of the liquor distributed in Pimpri Chinchwad and Hadapsar, Atole said Vhankade, having three cases of illegal liquor supply registered against him with the Pune police, had procured country-made liquor from a den in Uruli Kanchan. “He mixed methanol, which he had ordered from an e-commerce site, into the liquor and sold it to vendors in Phugewadi, Khadki and Hadapsar,” Atole said.Most of the victims from the Phugewadi area were daily wage workers employed with a movers and packers firm. “They used to buy liquor from Karnail Singh Virka, allegedly selling liquor from his house for over 40 years,” another officer from the Pimpri Chinchwad police said.An excise department official said, “Our investigation so far indicates that the mixing of methanol into the alcohol caused the deaths. It was hand-brewed liquor. We have registered three cases pertaining to developments in Gokhalenagar, Hadapsar and Dapodi.”The official said, “Our team traced the main accused, took him into custody and handed him over to the police. Our department also traced where the liquor was supplied. This helped in preventing more loss of lives.”(With inputs from Anurag Bende, Gitesh Shelke & Neha Madaan)
