Madhya Pradesh Orders Probe Into Dewas Hooch Death Claims, Report in 15 Days

The Madhya Pradesh Government has set up a five-member committee to investigate claims that at least 10 people died after consuming spurious liquor in Dewas district, officials said on Sunday.

The panel, constituted by the Ujjain divisional Commissioner, has been asked to submit its report within 15 days. It will be headed by Ujjain Additional District Magistrate Pratham Kaushik.

The inquiry follows conflicting accounts of the deaths in Chandana village, where villagers allege that at least 10 people died between September 27 and October 16 after drinking illicit liquor.

The district administration had earlier rejected the claims as false and misleading. It has since said that viscera samples from two of the deceased have been sent to a Forensic Science Laboratory for examination, and that the cause of death will become clear once the reports are received.

The administration has acknowledged that 10 deaths occurred in Chandana between October 1 and 15, but has denied that any of them were caused by spurious liquor. It attributed the deaths to old age, common illnesses, brain haemorrhage and deterioration of health due to excessive alcohol consumption.

According to the divisional Commissioner's order, the committee will conduct a detailed and impartial inquiry into the causes and circumstances of the deaths, along with related technical and administrative aspects, and submit a factual report within the specified period.

The other members of the panel are Mandsaur Additional Superintendent of Police Ramsanehi Mishra, Ratlam Sub-Divisional Police Officer Lekhraj Meena, Ujjain divisional flying squad Deputy Excise Commissioner Harshvardhan Rai, and Regional Director of Public Health and Medical Education Dr Deepak Kumar Pippal.

The committee's composition brings together police, excise and public health officials, reflecting the multiple dimensions of the inquiry — from the possible source of the liquor to the medical causes of death and the administrative response.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari has claimed that 22 people died after consuming spurious liquor in Chandana, Binjana and adjoining areas over the past month, and that at least 40 people suffered damage to their eyesight.

The Opposition leader has accused the administration of concealing the deaths and shielding what he described as a "liquor mafia". These allegations have not been independently verified.

The discrepancy between the official account and the villagers' claims is at the centre of the dispute the committee has been asked to resolve. The forensic examination of the viscera samples is expected to be a key element of its findings, along with records from local health facilities and the excise department's enforcement activity in the region.

Spurious liquor deaths have been a recurring concern in parts of Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states, where illicit liquor is often sold at low prices in rural areas. Such incidents typically prompt demands for stronger enforcement against illegal distillation and tighter oversight of licensed outlets.

Officials have not indicated whether the committee will speak to the families of the deceased or examine the role of local excise and police officials in the response to the deaths. The terms of the order refer to a factual report on the causes and circumstances of the deaths and the related administrative aspects.

The government's decision to order a formal inquiry marks a shift from the administration's earlier position that the claims were unfounded. Until the report is submitted, the exact cause of the deaths in Chandana remains a matter of inquiry, with the administration and the Opposition holding sharply differing positions.