Punjab BJP Meets Governor, Seeks CBI Probe Into Hooch Deaths

(MENAFN- IANS) Chandigarh, May 19 (IANS) Reiterating that the AAP government in Punjab has been completely hijacked and taken over by the party's Delhi-based leaders, and that has led to a constitutional crisis, Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar on Monday demanded a CBI probe into the hooch tragedy in Amritsar that claimed 27 lives.

Interacting with the media after meeting Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, Jakhar said they sought a CBI probe into the hooch tragedy and the government's liquor mafia links. Led by Jakhar, the delegation submitted a detailed memorandum to the Governor, seeking a probe into links of AAP's Punjab leadership with the liquor mafia running amok in Punjab. The delegation demanded that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) be asked to undertake a probe to expose this nexus.

The delegation included former minister Manoranjan Kalia, MLA Jangi Lal Mahajan, party state General Parminder Brar, among others. Terming it as an avoidable tragedy, the delegation said the quotas distributed under the liquor policy introduced by AAP in Punjab in 2022 were on the lines of Delhi's excise policy, and this must also be probed to ascertain who got the illegal benefits and to what extent.

“This can be done through stock registers, which must be inspected to find out the truth,” reads the memorandum. A probe into the quantum of foreign liquor quota by contractors each year since July 2022 has also been sought.

Responding to a query, Jakhar, while referring to the CBI investigation into the Delhi's excise policy, said raids should be conducted in Punjab too as part of the CBI probe and demanded that the ongoing CBI enquiry must be speeded up to conclude so that role of Punjab AAP leaders could also be brought before public and guilty be brought to justice.

“The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) must also be roped in to ascertain illegal proceeds, and the ambit of this CBI enquiry must be widened to include the hooch tragedy of Amritsar,” Jahkar added.

The memorandum also demanded a probe into AAP's Delhi-based leaders having been allotted official houses in Chandigarh, and also about their presence in official government meetings. The memorandum also sought a probe into the meteoric rise of MLAs, ministers and their relatives during the AAP regime in Punjab.

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