Kallakurichi hooch tragedy: CB-CID gets two days custody of 11 accused persons

Crime Branch-CID granted custody of 11 arrested in hooch tragedy, where 65 died from methanol-infused brew in Karunapuram.

The Crime Branch-CID has been granted two days custody of 11 persons, arrested in connection with the hooch tragedy in Karunapuram in Kallakurichi district.

The tragedy saw the death of 65 persons, 59 men and six women, from Karunapuram and a few other areas in Kallakurichi, who had consumed methanol-infused hooch on June 18.

The victims, mostly loaders and daily wagers had purchased the poisonous brew from bootlegger Govindaraj alias Kannukutty on June 18. They began arriving in hospitals in Kallakurichi, Salem, Villupuram and the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) in Puducherry from June 19.

Kallakurichi Chief Judicial Magistrate N. Sriram passed the order on Monday, July 1, 2024, with a direction to the CB-CID to produce the bootlegger Govindaraj alias Kannukutty, his wife Vijaya, as well as other accused persons: Chinnadurai, Joseph alias Raj, Madesh, Gowtham Chand, Sivakumar, Bhansil Lal, Kathiravan, Kannan, and Sakthivel, before the court at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.