Punjab hooch tragedy: After toll rises to 86, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal demands CBI probe

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday demanded a CBI probe into the Punjab hooch tragedy which has claimed 86 lives thus far. Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party is in the Opposition in Punjab, claimed that none of the cases pertaining to illicit liquor in the last few months have been solved by the local police. “Saddened by the loss of lives in Punjab due to illicit liquor. State govt needs to immediately take necessary steps to curb such mafias,” Kejriwal tweeted. “The case should be handed over to CBI immediately as none of the illicit liquor cases from the last few months have been solved by local police,” he said. On Saturday, the death toll in the Punjab hooch tragedy rose to 86 with 48 more people reported dead after drinking spurious liquor, prompting the state government to suspend seven excise and six police officials. The tragedy has been unfolding since Wednesday evening in three Punjab districts. Sixty-three of the deaths were reported from Tarn Taran district, 12 in Amritsar and 11 in Gurdaspur’s Batala, officials said. Twenty-five people have been arrested so far amid Opposition criticism and demands for the resignation of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who has warned of strict action against anyone found complicit.