Ahmedabad, july 13: The Ahmedabad police arrested four bootleggers, including three women , late on Saturday in connection with the killer hooch tragedy, which has claimed 123 lives — the highest in similar tragedies in the state so far.
The police arrested Kanta Vaghela (60), Kanta Rathod (65) — both residents of Odhav — Lata Chunara (30), a resident of Kantodiavas and bootlegger Daddu Chhara for their role in the sale of killer hooch. The three women worked as sub-agents of Chhara and Hari Shankar Kahar, who was the first to be arrested in the case.
The total of persons arrested in the case has now risen to eight.
Incidentally, in the recent state-wide raids on bootleggers, 243 women bootleggers have been arrested from south Gujarat.
The quartet has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 of IPC), administrating stupefying substance intentionally (Section 328 of IPC) and criminal conspiracy (Section 120 (b) of IPC).
According to the DCB, Chhara alias Yogendra Sisodhiya a resident of Naroda, had procured more than 400 litres of spurious hooch from Mehemdabad-based Vinod Chauhan alias Dagdi. Dagdi, the kingpin of the liquor racket, is absconding.
Chhara (28), the DCB added, has been in the bootlegging business for the past four years and has been arrested for violating the prohibition rules thrice.
In 2008, Chhara was arrested under the provisions of PASA and was serving term in a Porbandar jail until November last year.
“Lata Chunara was one of Chhara’s sub-dealers in the city and is accused of selling spurious hooch in the Kantodiavas area. Chhara’s another sub-dealer for Majoor Gam, Arvind Solanki, had died on the first day of the hooch tragedy,” said a DCB officer.
Saturday’s arrests were made after Kahar and his accomplices Himmatsinh Parmar, Vipul Luhar and Uttam Luhar, named the four.
Kahar, Parmar and Luhar are presently in police custody.
–Agencies