Kallakurichi hooch tragedy: CB-CID nabs methanol supplier from Chennai; 12 others held, too

CHENNAI: A special wing of the CB-CID on Sunday arrested Sivakumar, who is suspected to have supplied methanol to Madhesh of Puducherry who in turn passed it to the bootleggers arrested in the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy.

Sources said Sivakumar was arrested from his hideout in MGR Nagar. In a related development, four persons were arrested by the Prohibition Enforcement Wing (PEW) for allegedly stocking barrels holding 1,500 litres of chemical solvents at a godown in Vadaperumbakkam in neighbouring Tiruvallur district.

The arrested persons were identified as Gautham of Korukkupet, Banji Lal of Madhavaram, Ramkumar of Tiruvannamalai, and Paramasivam, who are employed in different chemical factories. Police suspect Gautham to be in links with Sivakumar.

Sources said as on Sunday, 12 people were arrested by the CB-CID in connection with the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, in which more than 55 persons have died.

Immediately after the deaths, the Kallakurichi police arrested three persons from the same family - K Govindharaj alias Kannukutty, his wife Vijaya, and Govindharaj's brother Dhamodharan - all from Karunapuram for selling the spurious liquor ironically from a cemetery in the village.

Police had then arrested Chinnadurai, from whom Kannukutty allegedly sourced the liquor packets.

Meanwhile, the body of a man from Madavachcheri village of Kallakurichi, who died earlier this week, was exhumed and examined today after his family members alleged that he, too, died after consuming hooch.

The relatives had buried the body of Jayamurugan, while that of his relative Ilayaraja was cremated. After the government announced Rs 10 lakh solatium for the hooch tragedy victims, Jayamurugan’s relatives petitioned the Collector seeking the amount, claiming that he died due to hooch consumption.