 |  | | Family members of some of those who fell ill after consuming hooch wait at the Diamond Harbour hospital; villagers demolish a hooch den in Sangrampur. Pictures by Saikat Das |
Dec. 15: The hooch toll in Diamond Harbour rose to 148 today, sparking protests from villagers who alleged that police were not taking action against those running illicit liquor dens. Sikha Adhikari, the chief medical officer of health (South 24-Parganas), said 163 people were undergoing treatment at the Diamond Harbour sub-divisional hospital, M.R. Bangur Hospital and Calcutta National Medical College Hospital. "So far, 148 people have died. The condition of many of those undergoing treatment is critical," she added. The victims were from 10 villages in Sangrampur and Mograhat. Former director-general of police Bhupinder Singh said from his Chandigarh home tonight that he could not remember any instance in Bengal where such a large number of people died after consuming illicit liquor. "I was with Bengal police for 36 years in different capacities. But I never heard that over 100 people died at one go after consuming illicit liquor. This is unprecedented and unusual," he said. Six persons, including a woman, have been arrested in addition to four yesterday on the charge of running spurious liquor dens. The arrested woman has been identified as Khairulla Bibi, 30. "She has told us that she used to run an illicit liquor shop to sustain her family," an officer said. District police chief L.N. Meena said raids were being conducted to arrest several others, including the kingpin, Noor Islam alias Khonra Badsa. Over 500 people, including women and children, assembled in front of the Sangrampur police outpost around 3.30pm to protest "police inaction". "The police know where Khonra Badsa and his financier Mohammad Salim are hiding. The law-enforcers are in cahoots with them. That's why they are protecting the duo instead of arresting them," said Sabera Bibi, 35, one of the protesters. Meena said he had received numerous complaints against Badsa and Salim. "Salim was arrested several times, mainly on extortion charges. He is out on bail. We are investigating if he has any connection with Badsa," he said. Mirda Mollah, a 65-year-old farmer, said: "The Sangrampur police outpost was set up two years ago. But the number of hooch dens have doubled since then. This proves that the police are hand-in-glove with spurious liquor traders." Today, the police and excise officials demolished over 25 hooch dens and grocery shops that had stocked illicit liquor in the area. Residents also joined the drive. Hooch worth Rs 7 lakh was seized. In Mograhat, 5km from Sangrampur, villagers did not allow CPM MLA Abdur Rezzak Mollah to take out a procession during the day. "A rally will not solve the problem. We will organise protests against the police-hooch trader nexus," an elderly lady said. A police officer said the villagers' grievances were "genuine". "They must have genuine grievances against some policemen who have a nexus with those running liquor dens. We are trying to identify these policemen," he said. Asked if the government was planning to increase the number of licensed liquor shops to prevent the mushrooming of liquor dens, chief secretary Samar Ghosh said: "I don't know if the government has any such plan. But the government does not encourage drinking." CM-Mollah fight Mamata Banerjee and Mollah today had an argument in the Assembly over the hooch deaths. While the Canning East MLA claimed the toll could have been less had a medical team reached the affected villages promptly, the chief minister said Khonra Badsa "enjoyed the Left's patronage". Mamata announced a CID probe into the deaths. In the afternoon session, the CPM staged a walkout before the passage of a land amendment bill because of the "repeated'' absence of the chief minister from the Assembly "whenever bills related to her departments are passed". | 
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