7 dead, 16 hospitalised in West Bengal after consuming spurious liquor
Kolkata, Nov 28: Seven persons died and 16 were hospitalised on Wednesday after consuming spurious liquor at Shantipur in West Bengal's Nadia district, the state's Finance Minister Amit Mitra said.
The state government ordered a CID inquiry into the incident and details on whether the victims consumed country liquor can be confirmed only after chemical examination, he said in the assembly premises.
Eleven excise officials, including the present Shantipur officer-in-charge (excise), his immediate predecessor, the deputy excise collector of Ranaghat range and eight excise constables, have been suspended, he said.
"The government wants to send a strong message that those responsible for the incident will not be spared," Mitra said.
He announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.
The CID investigations would also be able to throw light on whether the spurious liquor is being smuggled into rural Bengal from Bihar and Jharkhand, he said.
Nadia District Magistrate Sumit Gupta put the number of people who fell ill at 44 and said they were admitted at Kalna and Shantipur hospitals.
The condition of some of them are stated to be critical, hospital sources said.
Gupta said he was monitoring the situation at the hospital along with the local sub-divisional officer, block development officer and district chief medical officer (health).
The incident happened at Nrisinghapur village under Shantipur police station area of the district early on Wednesday, police said.
Locals said a majority of the dead and the sick were brick-field labourers and alleged that the spurious liquor was brought from nearby Kalna in Burdwan district.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
