Sagar Spurious Liquor Tragedy: Death Toll Rises To 30; Police Bust Spurious Liquor Racket, ₹20,000 Reward On Absconding Accused

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Sagar police have busted a racket involved in the trading of spurious liquor in Banda area of the Sagar district. The police have announced a reward of Rs 20,000 on one of the absconding kingpins of the case on Wednesday.

SP Anurag Sujania in a press conference told media that one of the kingpins of the racket Chandu Rajput has been arrested, but the other suspect Manish Lodhi alias Yashwant Thakur who also runs a liquor shop was involved in preparing and trading of liquor.

He also added that Chandu claims that he is the divisional chief of Karni Sena.

The SP further added that a total of 164 empty quarter-bottles (of 'Sagar Gold' brand and plain liquor), 27 litres of substandard liquor, approximately 170 bottle caps, 150 labels, a liquor measuring device, Fevicol, tape, a blade, two funnels (small and large), and 11 cardboard cartons were seized from the maize field of Chandu Rajput.

Yashwant Thakur was in contact with Ravi Lakhera, an interstate liquor smuggler, 45, currently residing in Lalitpur district, native of Orchha Road Police Station area, Chhatarpur district, from whom he obtained the formula for manufacturing liquor and learned the process of making it.

Two days prior to Janmashtami, using materials such as spirit, packaging sacks, and wrappers provided by Manish Lodhi and Ravi Lakhera at the maize field of Chandu Rajput, Shivanjay, and Manish Lodhi manufactured 50 cases of illicit, counterfeit liquor under the brand name 'Sagar Gold'.

This liquor was supplied by Shivanjay Rajput, Manish Lodhi, and Chandu Rajput to the villages of Nauraj, Gugra, Patan, and Chhapri, as well as other nearby villages, through salesmen.

He added that the police have arrested 16 suspects of the case out of 30 named suspects.

On the absconding Yashwant Thakur and Ravi Lakhera, the reward of Rs 20,000 each has been announced and on the rest of the absconding suspects the reward of Rs 10,000 has been announced.