Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin ordered a commission of inquiry on the recent Kallakurichi hooch tragedy that killed over 45 people. Retired judge of the Madras High Court, Justice P Gokuldas will lead the probe.
The state government also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each victim and Rs 50,000 to those who were critically injured and undergoing treatment.
This decision comes after the Madras High Court reviewed the matter and sought details from the state government on actions being taken against those responsible for the tragic incident, including the suspension and transfer of officers.
The court also inquired about the administration’s efforts to prevent such incidents in the future, as well as details of de-addiction centres.
“This is a problem everywhere. Not just for poor families but for affluent families also. Illicit liquor is not the only problem. This has become a common problem. People are even committing suicide,” said the court.
Calling it a “terrible tragedy”, Tamil Nadu Advocate General PS Raman said, “Right now, all our efforts are concentrated on saving lives. On the other allegations made by the petitioners (AIADMK), let me say that even larger tragedies have taken when their government was in power.pol
Tamil Nadu Hooch Tragedy
At least 47 people died and the condition of at least 30 people is critical after consuming illicit ‘packet arrack’ in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi.
The mortal remains of 29 people who died till Thursday were handed over to their relatives and the bodies were either buried or cremated, Kallakurichi District Collector Prasanth M S said.
The Collector said special teams have been formed to prevent the sale of illicit arrack in the district and they have been told to take up intense combing operations.
The administration had sufficient stock of medicines to treat the affected and presently efforts were on in taking door enumeration in Karunapuram on the number of persons who could be affected.
He appealed to those among the public who had consumed illicit liquor to voluntarily subject themselves to medical examination soon and undergo treatment if needed and thus avert possible threats to their lives.
Opposition Demands CBI Probe, Ruckus in Assembly
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit president K Annamalai urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to order a CBI probe into the incident. The state government, meanwhile, transferred the case to CB-CID.
“Tamil Nadu lost over 60 lives to hooch in the last two years due to the ineffective governance of the DMK,” he stated in the letter.
The production and sale of illicit liquor in Tamil Nadu happened at the behest of party functionaries and cadres belonging to the DMK and the points of sale were located close to courts, police stations, and other government offices, Annamalai alleged.
Meanwhile, the AIADMK members in the Tamil Nadu Assembly were evicted en masse on Friday after the main opposition tried to raise some issues during the Question Hour, but the ruling was withdrawn by the Speaker soon, following an appeal made by Chief Minister M K Stalin.
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