Karnataka to check methyl alcohol supply

In the face of a string of hooch tragedies in the state, Karnataka government on Wednesday decided to deal sternly with methyl alcohol suppliers by amending the excise act.

Deputy CM Siddaramaiah, who holds the excise portfolio, told reporters here that it has been decided to amend the excise act to fix the burden of proving the offence from "prosecution to the offender."

Elaborating on the amendment, Siddaramaiah said methyl alcohol, a poisonous substance, is supplied on the sly by vendors to hooch producers, leading to the liquor tragedies.

The existing excise act fixes the responsibility of proving the guilt of the illegal methyl alcohol supplier on the prosecution and not on the offender.

Once the amended act comes into force, those arrested for the offence will have to prove that he or she did not store the alcohol and supply it.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government on Wednesday issued show cause notices to deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Hassan over the death of two persons in Sathenahally, believed to be due to drinking spurious liquor.

At a high-level meeting convened by chief minister and deputy chief minister, it was decided to seek an explanation from the two top officials over the cause of the death.

Singh told reporters after the meeting that though initial reports indicated the cause of death to be food poisoning, there were doubts that hooch was responsible for the tragedy.

The decision to issue notices to the officials stemmed from the warning issued by the government at the last week's conference of district administration officials that they will be held responsible for hooch tragedies.

Singh and Siddaramaiah had said in that meeting that the government will act sternly against officials if they fail to check the hooch menace in their respective jurisdictions.