Four more arrested for supplying ‘chemical’

The Detection of Crime Branch (DCB), Ahmedabad, on Saturday arrested four more persons for allegedly supplying the deadly ‘chemical’ leading to the death of three persons in the Gurjari Nagar slums in Ellisbridge area of Ahmedabad.

The arrested are suspected to be local bootleggers operating in the area.

Earlier, the police had arrested main accused Sameer Kasab alias Zakir in late hours of Friday for supplying the chemical in the area.

S S Khandwawala, Director General of Police, in a press conference on Saturday, said that according to FSL report, Zakir had supplied methyl to the victims.

“He used methyl alcohol for making perfumes. After the police have ensured that hooch is not available in the city any where, people are mixing different chemicals for such addictions,” he said.

The police also said that Zakir had come out of jail just a month ago after serving his term for murder charges.

Abhay Chudasama, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCB), said, “These people may have been arrested as a preventive step. We need to see if they are involved in this case or not. We are waiting for Zakir to get discharged to track the roots of his business and trace more people (if involved).”

Incidentally, the DCB had earlier claimed after the hooch tragedy in Odhav that they have arranged for police check-posts in all the corners of the city to ensure brewing and sale of any addictive chemical stops.

Khandwawala further said that Zakir who used to sell perfumes (that usually have methyl component) had mixed methyl with water and supplied it to the victims in small packets. Police said Zakir had himself also consumed the solvent and was later admitted to the V S Hospital on Saturday.

A local from Gurjari Nagar slums, Ramesh Vaghri, said, “Zakir used to bring the packets to the spot some times and some times we used to go to Sarkhej to get packets at cheaper rates. The people here usually got the packets from Changodar, Thaltej, Sarkhej and Dholka.”

Vaghri confessed that he too used to sit and drink with his friends Chotulal, Vinod Makwana and Ramanlal — the three who died in the tragedy — every night.

The police had also found the bodies of two unidentified persons lying in the same area. However, later the police sources confirmed after the tests that one of them had died from cold and another from a snake bite.

Further investigations in the case have been handed over to the DCB.

1,260 liquor bottles found in boiler imported for Tata Power plant

The Mundra police on Friday seized 1,260 bottles of South Korean liquor valued at Rs 2.52 lakh from a boiler imported by Tata Power for its upcoming project at Tundla village in Kutch district. The consignment had arrived at Mundra Port and was cleared by the Customs officials on Friday. The Tata Group had imported the boiler from a South Korean company.

After learning about the liquor, a police party led by Sub-Inspector J D Vaghela intercepted the trailer near Samadhodha village.

A search led to the recovery of 63 boxes of liquor. The police have now registered a case of prohibition against three people – Am Kyum Samb of South Korea, and Amit Chandrakant Pandey and Prahlad Laxminarayan Bishnoi of Premier Transport Company, who were transporting the boiler.

Vaghela said that no arrest had been made in the case as it is still unknown as to who had ordered the liquor and to whom it was to be delivered. Vaghela said it was surprising that Customs officials had cleared the consignment without checking it properly, since liquor is banned in the state.