Gurjeet Singh Aujla blames Punjab government for hooch tragedy, demands judicial probe

Time of India

16-05-2025

Chandigarh: Citing the recent
hooch tragedy
in Amritsar district, Congress MP
Gurjeet Singh Aujla
on Friday said the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab govt's much-publicised 'war on drugs' was "completely disconnected from ground realities".
Expressing grief over the death of 27 people in Amritsar's Majitha assembly constituency due to consumption of
spurious liquor
, the Amritsar MP said: "In 2020, 120 people died because of spurious liquor in Amritsar, Batala, and Tarn Taran. Then in March 2024, 20 more died in Sangrur. No one knows what action was taken against the culprits. This lack of accountability has emboldened others. Now it happened again, in my own constituency."
Aujla claimed that the recent tragedy exposed the hollowness of the govt's 'Nasha Mukt Punjab' campaign. "The chief minister should take full responsibility for these tragic deaths and demand the resignations of all the officials who failed in their duty," he said.
The Lok Sabha member further alleged that he repeatedly raised concerns with the director general of police, Punjab, and other officials about the worsening drug crisis, particularly in Amritsar and other border areas, but his warnings went unheeded.
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"I consistently highlighted the deep-rooted drug nexus and the rise of spurious liquor, but all my letters were ignored," he said.
Aujla also drew attention to the growing issue of gambling – dhada satta – in Amritsar, which he said, along with drug abuse, was tarnishing the image of the holy city. He accused senior police officers and Punjab govt officials, including those from the excise department, of being in collusion with drug cartels.
"There is a dangerous nexus that is destroying Punjab's future," he alleged.
In light of the situation, Aujla urged the formation of a high-level committee under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court. The committee, he said, must investigate drug and liquor-related deaths over the years and dismantle the illegal networks operating in the state.
The parliamentarian also called on the central govt to send a high-level delegation, led by a Supreme Court judge, to investigate the manufacturing and distribution of drugs and toxic liquor in Punjab, particularly in Amritsar.
"This is essential, especially considering the spurious liquor was sold just 200 metres from a police station. Such proximity suggests tacit police support, which must be probed," he said.
According to Aujla, the nexus extends to the liquor trade itself. "There appears to be an unholy alliance between high-ranking excise officials and political leaders," he said.
The Congress MP further alleged that the Punjab govt was focused solely on revenue generation from liquor sales, resulting in inflated prices for legal liquor.
"Good quality liquor is being sold at inflated rates, forcing poor people to resort to cheaper, often dangerous alternatives. The govt is pushing the poor toward death," he said while highlighting the comparative data on the minimum sale price versus actual sale price of various country-made liquor brands.
He also claimed that illegal liquor manufacturers were ordering large quantities of ethanol without any govt checks. "The govt failed to act despite this clear red flag," said Aujla. "The proposed judicial inquiry into the hooch tragedy must also determine accountability. It is astonishing that despite the presence of multiple law enforcement and intelligence agencies – STF, ATF, and others – no one detected the large-scale movement of ethanol into Punjab or how it was being misused," he pointed out.
Aujla demanded that the investigation should expose the "big fish" behind both the overpricing of liquor and the thriving spurious liquor trade in the state.
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