Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar police on Wednesday laid hands on the prime accused in the spurious liquor tragedy after a brief encounter in the district, nearly three weeks after he was absconding. The accused, identified as Manish Lodhi, a licensed liquor contractor, had been carrying a bounty of Rs 30,000 for information leading to his arrest, and was apprehended alongside his aide Ashish Sahu in the city’s Malthon area. 

According to police, Lodhi sustained a bullet wound to his leg after he and Sahu allegedly fired at a police team during an interception in the early hours of Wednesday. The striking development comes amid an ongoing probe into the spurious liquor incident, which has claimed 20 lives so far. Meanwhile, in a parallel development, the Madhya Pradesh government told the High Court (HC) on Tuesday that the deaths of seven more people were suspected to be linked to the consumption of the illicit and spurious liquor. 

Cops intercept duo after tip-off

Sagar’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Anurag Sujaniya said that a team from the Motinagar police received a tip-off at around 3 am on the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday and intercepted the accused duo at the Noniya-Sesai Road Valley in the Malthon area. 

Sujaniya said, “Lodhi and Sahu opened fire on the police. In retaliatory action taken in self-defence, Lodhi was shot in the leg, while Sahu sustained injuries while attempting to flee.” Post-encounter, the police recovered two country-made pistols, five live cartridges and a baseball bat from the scene. The accused duo was then admitted to the Bundelkhand Medical College in Sagar for treatment, while legal proceedings have been initiated against them.

Police unearth alleged fake liquor network

According to investigating police personnel, Lodhi is being believed to be the key conspirator in the spurious liquor cases registered at Banda and Vinayaka police stations. Police said he had been on the run despite raids conducted by Sagar police teams in several locations, including Sagar, Morena, Gwalior and Delhi. 

It came to light during the probe that Lodhi, along with Sahu, Ravi Lakhera and Chandu Raja alias Chandrabhan, planned to brew counterfeit liquor under the brand name Sagar Gold. 

As per police, the liquor had been manufactured at Tatarwara village by means of industrial spirit and thinner allegedly brought from Delhi. Raw materials, dies and empty bottles were reportedly sourced from Gwalior, the police said. The counterfeit liquor was then allegedly sold at low prices through licensed liquor shops and village commission agents in Banda, Nauraj, Gugra and Chhapri areas. 

39 arrested in 3 cases

So far, police have booked 52 people in connection with three cases pertaining to the alleged spurious liquor operation, and 39 of them have fallen into the police dragnet, including Delhi-based chemical supplier Anup Giri. 

According to police, a probe into the illicit liquor syndicate is still underway, while legal proceedings against the accused remain in progress.