The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has traced the source of toxic methanol allegedly used in spurious liquor that killed 14 people in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad to a warehouse in Thane district, officials said on Saturday.
Acting on leads emerging from the investigation, an FDA team raided the premises of Rex International in Bhiwandi on Friday and seized 5,929 kg of methanol. The warehouse was subsequently sealed after the company allegedly failed to produce mandatory records relating to the purchase, storage and distribution of the hazardous chemical.
The crackdown comes in the wake of a hooch tragedy that claimed 14 lives over two days. According to police, 10 people died in Pimpri Chinchwad’s Phugewadi area, while four others succumbed in Pune’s Hadapsar locality after consuming suspected spurious liquor.
Investigators have arrested six persons in connection with the case, including Karnelsingh Takhtsingh Virka, Gurmangatsingh Karnelsingh Virka, Yogesh Ramchandra Wankhede, Radhesham Hariram Prajapati, Indarjit Kaur Karnelsingh Virka and Kalpesh Agrawal.
According to the FDA, the illicit country liquor, reportedly sold for just Rs 30 per bottle, had been adulterated with industrial-grade methanol. Investigations revealed that Karnelsingh Virka procured the liquor from Wankhede, who allegedly sourced the toxic substance from Prajapati of Uruli Kanchan.
The methanol trail eventually led investigators to Rex International, which operates a corporate office in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, and maintains a warehouse in Bhiwandi.
Also read: 17 dead after consuming suspected spurious liquor in Maharashtra
FDA officials said the company failed to provide ledger entries or transaction records documenting the movement of the chemical. It also allegedly lacked mandatory verification and compliance documents required under the Poisons Act.
“The entire unaccounted stockpile was seized immediately to prevent further catastrophic misuse,” the FDA said in a statement.
The owners of the firm, Arun Kumar Choubey and Abhishek Arun Kumar Choubey, have already been taken into custody by the State Excise Department.
FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said authorities would pursue strict action against anyone endangering public health through illegal activities involving food, medicines or hazardous substances.
The FDA has registered a complaint against the company’s owners and initiated proceedings to permanently cancel its licences by issuing show-cause notices under the Poisons Act.
Officials said the investigation is continuing to determine the full supply chain of the methanol and identify any additional persons involved in the manufacture and distribution of the lethal liquor.
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