Ludhiana: Two salesmen of a liquor shop in police custody, shop sealed
Punjab: A day after three persons died in the city after allegedly consuming spurious liquor, the Ludhiana police registered a case under the Excise Act and arrested two salesmen of a liquor shop under charges of culpable homicide, criminal act with common intention. The suspects have been identified as Omkar Singh, a resident of Chamba in Himachal Pradesh and Sushil Kumar, a resident of Kangra in Himachal Pradesh. The police have also seized 422 quarters of Raspberry brand. Commissioner of Police (CP) Swapan Sharma told The Tribune that after registering a case and arresting the two salesmen, the police have started further investigation into the matter. Samples from the recovered bottles have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Mohali and viscera samples have also been sent for examination to ascertain the exact cause of death. After the report of the samples is received, the police will initiate further legal proceedings in the case.
The culprits will not be spared. Sharma said that interrogation of the arrested salesmen is underway to gather any clues and action will be taken if the role of any other person comes to light. According to the information, the Excise Department has sealed the liquor shop located in Sanyas Nagar and a separate investigation is also being conducted by the department. It is worth mentioning that Rinku, Mangu and Debi died due to consumption of liquor on the night of May 21. First one person was brought to the Civil Hospital in a dead state and later two more people died during treatment. Senior BJP leader Amarjit Singh Tikka termed the deaths due to liquor as a serious matter and demanded a judicial inquiry. He demanded that the investigation should be time-bound and the culprits should not be spared. Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Gurdev Sharma Debi visited the houses of the three deceased and handed over cheques of Rs 3 lakh each (Rs 1 lakh each to the victim families) to the relatives of the deceased. Debi demanded that the state government should also compensate them.
