Eight Mumbai policemen have been suspended for failing to check the sale of spurious liquor which has claimed 53 lives in Mumbai’s Malvani area so far.
With another 28 reported to be admitted to hospital on Friday evening, authorities fear the death toll may rise further.
Among the eight suspended is Prakash Patil, the inspector in-charge of the police station under which the shanty selling the hooch stood. One assistant police inspector and two police sub-inspectors have been suspended and a departmental inquiry has been initiated against them.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the Mumbai Police Crime Branch, which is investigating the incident, to submit a report within two days.
Mastermind on the runSo far, six men in the supply chain have been held. Two others said to be at the top of the hierarchy, including a woman who was earlier arrested by the Excise Department, is on the run.
This alleged mastermind, Akka, headed the chain which brewed and supplied the beverage to the shanty. The Excise Department said the hooch was supplied from neighbouring Thane.
Officials said the victims consumed the liquid either on June 17 night or June 18 morning. They later complained of stomach ache and dizziness and rushed to hospitals. Most of those dead are labourers residing in the vicinity of the shanty where the hooch was sold.
