Athawale urges govt to crack down on illicit liquor vendors

In the wake of the Malad hooch tragedy that has so far claimed 94 lives, RPI(A) chief Ramdas Athawale today urged the government to take immediate action against those selling illicit liquor.
"The number of people who have lost their lives in the Malwani spurious liquor incident is outrageous. The government needs to get working immediately to curb the sale of illegal alcohol that is prevalent across the state," Athawale told reporters here today.
The RPI leader said he would meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in this regard tomorrow.
"I will appeal to the Chief Minister to pay a compensation of at least Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each victim. There are many young lives lost in the incident," Athawale said.

The death toll due to consumption of spurious liquor in Malad climbed to 94 today. The incident had occurred at Laxmi Nagar slum near Gamdevi Jurassic Park in Malwani in suburban Malad on Wednesday night.
This is the worst hooch tragedy in the city since December 2005, when 87 people lost their lives due to consumption of spurious liquor in suburban Vikhroli.

Police have already arrested five accused in the case but the prime accused - Mainka Bai - is still on the run.
Eight personnel attached to Malwani police station had been suspended after the incident.
The Excise department had earlier suspended four of its officials in connection with the incident for incompetence and dereliction of duty.