Accuses CM of giving free run to his mlas to run illicit liquor rackets
Says liquor and sand mafia had even compromised Cong high command and silenced Sonia Gandhi
Patiala, August 13, 2020: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal today demanded criminal cases be registered against Congress legislators Madan Lal Jalalpur and Hardyal Singh Kamboj for running liquor and sand mafias even as he accused chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh of giving a free run to his legislators to run an illicit liquor racket.
Holding a massive protest in front of the site of the illegal distillery unearthed in this segment at Ghaggar Serai, the SAD President said Madan Lal Jalalpur was the undisputed head of the illicit liquor gang and that the chief minister was sheltering him as well as Hardyal Kamboj by refusing to order a CBI probe into the illicit liquor racket in the State. He said the power of the liquor mafia was such that the Congress government had refused to hand over the case files regarding the Ghanaur illegal distillery seizure to the Enforcement Directorate. “Even the SSP as well as the excise officials who were pursuing the case have been shifted out”. He assured the people that once the SAD was elected to power in the State it would order a comprehensive inquiry into the issue and also recover the ill gotten wealth accumulated by the likes of Jalalpur and deposit it in the State exchequer.
Holding the chief minister squarely responsible for this state of affairs, Mr Sukhbir Badal said “it seems the Congress government is deliberately not proceeding against the liquor mafia despite the recent hooch tragedy which has claimed more than 130 lives”. He said the liquor mafia had apparently even compromised the Congress high command with party President Sonia Gandhi keeping mum on the issue because the mafia was funding the party high command also.
Stating that the SAD would not rest until those responsible for distributing the poisonous liquor were put behind bars, Mr Badal said “we will assist the victim families in securing justice in the case”. He said the party would also exercise all options to ensure a murder case under section 302 IPC was registered against all those responsible for the hooch tragedy. “We will also demand criminal action against the distilleries who distributed denatured spirit to the liquor mafia. The hooch tragedy occurred due to use of spirit to make spurious liquor and not due to ‘lahan’ used to make country liquor. The government is deliberately proceeding against bootleggers making country liquor to confuse the issue and divert attention from the distilleries responsible for this tragedy”.
The SAD President also took on the chief minister for being utterly insensitive to the suffering of the victim families who had lost their bread winners in the hooch tragedy. He said the Capt Amarinder Singh did not come out of his farm house to console the victim's families. He said like in the case of the Ghanaur distillery case, the chief minister did not order action against the kingpins behind the hooch tragedy. “This despite the fact that the victim families accused Congress leaders had distributed spurious liquor which led to the hooch tragedy”.
Others who spoke on the occasion included Prof.Prem Singh Chandumajra who said illicit liquor had not only resulted in a loss of Rs 5,600 crore to the State exchequer but also led to loss of 130 lives. “These lives could have been saved if the chief minister had acted against the kingpins behind the illegal distillery in Ghanaur”. Others who spoke on the occasion included Surjit Singh Rakhra, , N K Sharma, Harmail Singh Tohra, Bibi Harpreet Kaur Mukhmailpur, Bibi Kuldeep Kaur Tohra, Harinderpal Chandumajra and Harpal Juneja