- NHRC seeks report from Gujarat Chief Secretary, DGP after methanol-laced liquor tragedy
- Human rights panel seeks death toll, treatment, probe, compensation and action against erring officials
- Police widen crackdown: 27 arrested as investigation tracks alleged cross-border supply network
- Six police personnel suspended after preliminary probe points to alleged negligence
- Opposition demands accountability and judge-led SIT even as government agencies intensify investigation
NE LEGAL BUREAU
NEW DELHI, GANDHINAGAR, AUG 25
A toxic liquor trail that began with a fatal drinking episode in Bhavnagar has now reached the country’s human-rights watchdog, turning a local tragedy into a wider test of Gujarat’s prohibition enforcement, police accountability and the state’s ability to protect citizens from a deadly underground liquor network.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports concerning deaths and hospitalisation following consumption of spurious Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in Bhavnagar district and issued notices to the Gujarat Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, seeking a detailed report within two weeks.
The NHRC’s notice was based on reports available to it at the time, which spoke of at least nine deaths and 39 people in critical condition. The situation has subsequently worsened: the reported death toll has risen to 13, with three people still hospitalised, while the police investigation has expanded sharply.
The Commission said that, “if true,” the reported facts raise serious issues of violation of human rights.
NHRC demands answers beyond the death toll
The Commission has sought a comprehensive account covering the updated death toll, condition of hospitalised victims, progress of the investigation and action taken against those responsible.
It has specifically asked for details of steps taken to trace the entire supply chain involving methanol and other raw materials, as well as information on departmental action against suspended police personnel and any other officials found responsible.
The NHRC has also sought details of relief, compensation and medical assistance extended to the families of those who died and survivors.
Significantly, the Commission wants to know what long-term measures are being implemented to strengthen enforcement of Gujarat’s prohibition law and prevent a recurrence of such tragedies.
The intervention comes as investigators continue to uncover an alleged organised manufacturing and distribution chain involving counterfeit bottles and toxic methanol.
13 lives lost; police probe widens
The Bhavnagar tragedy surfaced after people who had consumed liquor from counterfeit bottles bearing the label of a popular IMFL brand fell seriously ill. Police investigations found methanol in the liquor, with forensic reporting earlier indicating an extremely high concentration in a seized sample.
The investigation has since moved beyond the immediate sellers to the alleged manufacturing and supply network. On Tuesday, police arrested 13 more accused, taking the total number of arrests to 27. A Madhya Pradesh resident suspected of playing a key role in manufacturing the methanol-laced liquor is among those arrested.
Police have also uncovered a large manufacturing setup, with investigators seizing chemicals, colouring agents, ready-filled counterfeit liquor bottles, fake brand stickers and rolls, bottle caps and packaging material, according to the NHRC material.
Earlier, Bhavnagar SP Nitesh Pandey had said police formed 16 teams to track the network and determine the extent of distribution. “The main suspect, Gautam Solanki, had brought the liquor and then distributed it to other bootleggers in his network. They then sold it to others,” Pandey said.
The probe has also sought to establish the source of the methanol and the number of bottles manufactured and circulated, with investigators coordinating with Madhya Pradesh authorities.
Khaki faces scrutiny as opposition turns up heat
The tragedy has simultaneously triggered an internal accountability exercise. Two police inspectors and five other personnel were reported suspended after a preliminary inquiry found negligence; subsequent reports have referred to six personnel being suspended.
The political temperature has risen alongside the investigation.
Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda demanded the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, alleging that prohibition exists only on paper and calling for a Special Investigation Team headed by a sitting High Court judge.
Chavda said: “Gujarat’s prohibition law is only on paper.”
Congress leader and former Bhavnagar MP Shaktisinh Gohil also visited affected patients and sought greater accountability, including a judicially headed investigation and assistance for victims. Opposition leaders have questioned whether the enforcement machinery acted swiftly enough to prevent the circulation of the toxic consignment.
Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani, who visited the hospital, also joined the demand for accountability and action against those responsible.
The allegations remain political claims and are subject to investigation; the government’s enforcement agencies, meanwhile, have intensified arrests and the criminal probe.
A ‘dry’ state confronts a deadly underground economy
The Bhavnagar episode has revived a larger and uncomfortable question for Gujarat: Can prohibition remain effective when an illicit supply chain is capable of sourcing toxic chemicals, manufacturing counterfeit branded liquor, moving it across state borders and distributing it through local networks?
Gujarat has prohibited manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol since 1960. Yet the latest tragedy has exposed the potentially lethal consequences of an underground market operating outside regulatory and quality controls.
The scale of the current investigation is already substantial. Police have traced suspected suppliers across Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, while the State Monitoring Cell has taken a prominent role in the probe.
The discovery of counterfeit bottles, labels, caps, packaging and chemical inputs makes the case more than a question of individual bootlegging. It points investigators towards an alleged supply-chain ecosystem that will have to be dismantled at every level.
NHRC intervention raises the larger human-rights question
The NHRC’s intervention now adds a crucial dimension to the criminal investigation: what systems failed, who was responsible, what relief reaches the victims and what safeguards will prevent another tragedy?
The Commission’s two-week deadline puts the Gujarat administration and police leadership under a formal obligation to place before it the latest position on deaths, treatment, investigation, official accountability, compensation and preventive measures.
For families who have lost loved ones, however, the central issue goes beyond statistics and arrests. It is whether the chain that turned a prohibited substance into a lethal counterfeit product can be permanently broken.
The Bhavnagar tragedy has therefore evolved from a criminal investigation into a broader test of enforcement, accountability and public safety—and the NHRC’s intervention ensures that the questions will now be asked not only inside Gujarat, but at the national human-rights level.
