Spurious liquor death toll up to 17, CID collects evidence from dens

Pune: The spurious alcohol death toll went up to 17 after a man from Kondhwa and another person from Phugewadi succumbed to its effects on Saturday, while the CID personnel started collecting evidence from the liquor dens in Pandharemala and Phugewadi, and recording statements of victims’ relatives.A CID officer said, “We are yet to receive details of the 16th victim from the Kondhwa police station, but got information that he had consumed the spurious liquor supplied by the same network. The other victim (35) died in a hospital in Aundh.”A mixture of country-made liquor and methanol proved fatal to 17 people so far in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. The Pimpri Chinchwad police arrested Yogesh Vhankade (23) of Mundhwa, who allegedly mixed methanol with country-made liquor. The case was handed over to the state CID (Criminal Investigation Department) on Friday evening.Sunil Ramanand, additional director-general of police (CID), told TOI, “Six more people are in a critical condition in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. We are yet to receive information regarding the final death toll. We do not know the details of those undergoing treatment in private hospitals or have not yet approached the police or the CID.”Ramanand said, “We have constituted two teams to probe the cases registered by the Pune City and the Pimpri Chinchwad police. We will soon write to the state government, seeking approval to take over the investigation of the three cases registered by the state excise department, Pune. We will jointly interrogate the arrested suspects with the state excise department officials.”The Thane FDA seized nearly six tonnes of toxic methanol late on Friday from a Bhiwandi facility, which investigators claimed was linked to the supply chain behind the Pune hooch tragedy. Thane FDA joint commissioner Bhushan Patil said investigations revealed the liquor was adulterated with the highly toxic chemical.TOI visited the Pandharemala liquor den in Hinjewadi on Saturday, a day after NCP (SP) workers vandalised it. Residents living near it claimed that it had been operating for the past 25 years.Lalita Jagtap, daughter of liquor tragedy victim Arun Dadar (60), said, “The liquor den started operating alongside the Mutha Right Bank Canal before human settlements came up in the area. A large number of local residents visited the den daily. My father used to go there regularly.”Lalita said, “My mother and brother had gone to our native place in Ahilyanagar district on Thursday. My father called my mother and told her that he was experiencing severe chest pain and vomiting continuously. He then collapsed at home. When my mother informed me about it, I rushed to Pandharemala from my home in Kalepadal. I first took him to a nearby hospital. He was then shifted to Sassoon General Hospital, where he was declared dead.”She said, “My father was a daily-wage worker. He moved from Ahilyanagar to Pune about 20 years ago and settled in Pandharemala. I have seen the liquor den operating in the area since my childhood.”Lalita and other residents of the area said the land on which hutments came up over the past 25 years belonged to the state irrigation department, while some parcels were Watan land.Vhankade became ‘Sikandar Rathod’ to conceal identity: PoliceYogesh Vhankade, who allegedly mixed methanol with country-made liquor, adopted the alias “Sikandar Rathod” to conceal his identity.This is among several startling details Investigators came to know about Vhankade during his interrogation. The police said he used the fake name to avoid suspicion during liquor-related transactions and evade the police as well as the state excise department action.Vhankade, hailing from Solapur district, came to Pune a few years ago in search of a job. He gradually became a key link in the city’s illicit liquor supply chain. He has been staying at Keshavnagar in Mundhwa with his parents for the past five months.(With inputs from Manoj Badgeri in Thane)