Punjab hooch tragedy: Death toll rises to 98

In Tarn Taran, the death toll is now 75, Deputy Commissioner Kulwant Singh said over the phone. He, however, said the administration put the figure at 75 on the basis of the information received from the field as the victims’ last rites have already been performed by their families in the past a couple of days. Some of them even didn’t come forward for autopsy, he said. Apart from Tarn Taran, 12 deaths have been reported from Amritsar and 11 from Gurdaspur’s Batala, in a tragedy unfolding since Wednesday evening.

Officials said some of the families were not even coming forward to report the death of their kin after drinking spurious liquor. A senior police official said they have been persuading them to report the death of their family members.

Meanwhile, the Opposition AAP held protests at several places, including Patiala, Barnala, Pathankot and Moga, against the Punjab government. The protesters accused the government of negligence , leading to death of people, mostly belonging to poor families.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann also went to Tarn Taran and met families of the deceased. Mann sought a probe by a sitting judge into the matter. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded a CBI probe into the tragedy.

Hitting back at Delhi counterpart, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the AAP leader should mind his own business. Amarinder Singh further asked the Delhi chief minister not to exploit the tragic affair for reviving his defunct party’s stake in the State . Singh also advised his Delhi counterpart to concentrate on his State’s horrendous COVID situation.