Punjab spurious liquor tragedy: Toll rises to 62 as 23 more casualties reported from Tarn Taran

Chandigarh: The death toll in the Punjab spurious liquor tragedy rose to 62 on Saturday as 23 more casualties were reported from the state’s Tarn Taran district, officials said. Till Friday night, the district had reported 19 deaths. “In Tarn Taran, the death toll has reached 42,” Deputy Commissioner Kulwant Singh told PTI on Saturday, adding that the maximum deaths took place in the Sadar and city areas of district. Apart from Tarn Taran, the authorities had reported 11 casualties in Amritsar and nine in Gurdaspur’s Batala since Wednesday night. A senior police official said families of several victims were not coming forward to record their statements but they persuaded them to do so. “A majority of the families were not coming forward and did not want any action. Some of them are not even getting the post-mortem done,” said a police official. Meanwhile, Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ishfaq said some families have refused to accept that their kin died after consuming spurious liquor. “The wards of some of those who died are not accepting that they died because of spurious liquor. They are saying their family member died of heart attack,” said the DC. Tarn Taran DC Kulwant Singh said some families had even cremated the bodies without informing police. Till now, police have arrested 10 people in connection with the case.