Sagar spurious liquor case: 20 died, kin compensated, state government tells HC

Twenty people died after drinking spurious liquor in the Sagar district, while the cause of death of another seven was unclear, the state government said in a status report filed in the Madhya Pradesh high court. Full compensation of ₹4 lakh was paid to the kin of the 20, and ₹two lakh to others.

The status report was presented on Monday even as a bench of Chief Justice Alpesh Yeshwant Kogje and Justice Vivek Jain disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding an impartial inquiry and strict action against the accused. The bench granted the petitioner liberty to present their case before the judicial commission probing the matter.

The government apprised the court of the action against the accused. It said 102 people requiring hospitalisation after the hooch tragedy were taken to hospitals in Banda and Sagar and provided free medicines and treatment.

The government said post-mortems for the 20 were conducted and arrangements were made to transport the bodies to their homes. It added that 70 health camps were organised for discharged patients, and 1,969 were medically examined from September 11 to 19.

The government said it constituted a Justice (retired) VPS Chauhan-led judicial commission to inquire into the tragedy. It added that 32 of the 52 accused have been arrested, and seven liquor shops were sealed and samples were collected.

The Sagar hooch tragedy was the latest in a series of such incidents. In August, four people died after drinking suspected spurious alcohol in Bihar’s Patna district.