Amritsar hooch tragedy: SC commission seeks action taken report from DC, SSP
Amritsar: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has launched an investigation into the hooch tragedy in Amritsar's Majitha sub-division, which claimed the lives of 27 people in May.
The NCSC has demanded an action taken report (ATR) from the Amritsar deputy commissioner and senior superintendent of police (SSP) within 15 days.
The investigation was initiated after a complaint was filed by Parmjit Singh Kainth, vice-president of the BJP Scheduled Caster (SC) Morcha, Punjab, who raised concerns that the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government was attempting to cover up the fact that 16 of the victims were from the SC community.
According to the notice served to the authorities, the commission will inquire into the incident under the powers conferred to it by Article 338 of the Constitution, which mandates the protection of SC rights.
On Thursday, Kainth led a delegation of the BJP SC Morcha leaders to the villages affected by the tragedy and met with the families of the victims and expressed their concerns over the government's handling of the incident.
Kainth accused the AAP government of hiding the identities of the SC victims in order to downplay the issue. 'The government is trying to cover up the fact that 16 of the deceased were from the SC community,' Kainth alleged. 'The liquor mafia continues to operate freely, and the AAP government has failed to take effective action against them.'
The BJP leader flayed the government for its alleged failure to expose the mafia responsible for the illegal production of methanol-laced liquor, which caused the deaths.
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