Madhya Pradesh plans to include death penalty in law for liquor ban, says CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the state government will enact a stringent law which would provide for death penalty to tighten noose around those involved in illicit liquor trade. [caption id=“attachment_3623115” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Shivraj Singh Chouhan. PTI[/caption] Underlining the perils of alcoholism, he said addiction is the root cause of one’s destruction. “A strict law will be enacted to stop illicit liquor trade. A provision of capital punishment will be made under the law for people who are involved in trading of illicit liquor or hooch,” Chouhan said while addressing a programme organised on Monday by the Vishwa Gayatri Parivar on de-addiction. He said the state government will launch various campaigns against all types of addiction. “Madhya Pradesh will be freed from addiction by creating awareness. The government has decided that no new liquor shop or liquor factory would be set up in the state,” the chief minister said. Talking about the government’s efforts in the direction of liquor-restrictions, Chouhan said beside checking on new liquor units or shops, a decision was also taken (in December 2016) that no liquor shop would be opened within the 5-km radius of banks of the Narmada river. The number of liquor shops in the state will gradually reduce, he said. On the organisation’s de-addiction campaign, regional president of Gayatri Parivar’s youth cell Anand Vijay said 15 lakh people have taken part in their signature campaign of ‘addiction free Madhya Pradesh’.