Maharashtra hooch tragedy: Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya to head probe

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Chief Secretary will head a probe into the worst-ever hooch tragedy in Mumbai which has claimed 102 lives so far. “The government has ordered a probe under the Chief Secretary to enquire into the deaths caused in the unfortunate Malwani hooch tragedy,” Excise Minister Eknath Khadse told reporters after a meeting of the state Cabinet. [caption id=“attachment_2308834” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mumbai Police officials at the site where illicit liquor was found. PTI[/caption] Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya has been asked to conclude the probe and submit a report to the government in three months, he said. The death toll from the city’s worst such tragedy had risen to 102 last night, while nearly 50 people who consumed the killer brew were fighting for their lives in various hospitals. So far seven persons have been arrested in the case and eight police and four excise officials suspended. All of those arrested are in police custody. Blaming the BJP-led state government’s lapses for the tragedy, opposition Congress has already demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio. “Excise Minister should take responsibility for this tragedy and quit. Since the Home Department is with the Chief Minister he should also resign,” Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam said. Under attack over the tragedy that began unfolding at the Laxmi Nagar slums in suburban Malwani on Wednesday night, Excise Minister Khadse has promised enactment of a harsher law to deal with bootlegging to ensure that those arrested for distilling and selling illicit liquor do not get bail for at least one year after their arrest. PTI