Key accused in Majha hooch tragedy surrenders in court
Rashpal was named in five FIRS after 130 people had died and a dozen lost their vision by “consuming spurious liquor” in three Majha districts
LAST WEEK, A LOCAL COURT HAD REJECTED RASHPAL’S BAIL APPLICATION. EARLIER ALSO, HIS BAIL APPLICATIONS WERE REJECTED BY LOCAL COURTS AND HIGH COURT
TARN TARAN: : After evading arrest for nearly two years, one of the key accused of the 2020 Majha hooch tragedy, that claimed around 130 lives, on Saturday surrendered before a court here, which further sent him to two-day police remand.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Tarn Taran Ranjit Singh Dhillon confirmed the circumstances of Rashpal Singh’s surrender.
Last week, a local court had rejected Rashpal’s bail application. Earlier also, his bail applications were rejected by the local courts and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Rashpal alias Shalu of Dhotian village was named in five first information reports (FIRS), including under the murder charges, after around 130 people had died and around a dozen had lost their vision by allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Amritsar districts of Majha.
Around 80 deaths were reported in Tarn Taran district only. The police of the three districts had arrested nearly 150 people after the tragedy had unfolded.
During the investigation by the Tarn Taran police, they found that Rashpal along with his brother Gurpal Singh had been running the business of liquor smuggling at a large scale.
The brothers were allegedly using a dera run by Rashpal in their village to carry out their illegal liquor business for nearly a decade. They have many other criminal cases pending against them. Gurpal was arrested for smuggling 4,000 litres of chemical/liquor in Phillaur on July 9, 2020, just 20 days before the hooch tragedy happened.
Rashpal Singh allegedly transported at least four consignments of spirit liquor even after the arrest of his brother.
Gurpal, who is out on bail in the case, had joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and then the Congress party before the recently held state assembly elections.
According to Tarn Taran police, Rashpal and Gurpal had been smuggling the content for making illicit liquor from Patiala side.
Earlier, the Tarn Taran police had frozen assets of Rashpal and Gurpal worth ₹ 4 crore under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act registered in 2014.