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The Tamil Nadu Crime Branch - Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID) on Tuesday, May 23, filed a plea in a court in Villupuram, seeking custody of the 11 accused who were arrested by the police in connection with the hooch tragedy which has claimed 23 lives so far. According to IANS, the case will be heard in court on Wednesday.
The Tamil Nadu police had arrested 11 people in connection with the case, including a chemical engineer named Ilaya Nambi who allegedly sold industrial methanol to Ezhumalai from Puducherry, an agent involved in the distribution of spurious liquor. The CB-CID is now seeking the custody of the 11 people for a span of three days to inquire into their possible role in the deaths in Villupuram district’s Marakkanam Taluk.
A special team of police had previously identified two additional suspects, namely Prem Kumar (54) from Vellore and Vengatachalapathy (40) from Perambai in Villupuram district on May 20. All the accused booked in this case have been charged with attempt to murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), after the Tamil Nadu police modified the First Information Report (FIR).
The CB-CID investigation is ongoing, under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police V Gomathi, after the Marakkanam police was asked to hand over their preliminary investigation reports to the elite police unit by the government.
In the aftermath of consuming illicit liquor laced with industrial methanol, over 50 individuals from Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts were rushed to hospitals. As of May 19, approximately 49 individuals were receiving treatment at the Government Villupuram Medical College Hospital, while one more person passed away due to health complications on May 20, raising the death toll to 23. Recent reports indicate that 22 of the 48 patients have been discharged following their recovery.
