Day after Punjab hooch toll 86, CM suspends officials

CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR: The number of deaths in the Punjab hooch tragedy rose to 86 on Saturday. The Punjab police arrested 17 more persons in a massive crackdown in the three affected districts, along with several other places in and around Rajpura and the Shambhu border (with Haryana). The total number of arrests in the case is now 25.
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh ordered the suspension on Saturday of seven excise and taxation officers and inspectors, two Punjab police DSPs and four SHOs, as well as an inquiry against them in connection with the hooch tragedy.