Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said on Tuesday that the state government will not spare anyone, however affluent he might be, involved in the sale of spurious liquor that led to hooch tragedy in the Amritsar district.

Interacting with media persons after conveying condolences to the bereaved families of hooch tragedy in Majitha, the chief minister said the deaths are not an accident but murders caused due to greed of certain individuals involved in the heinous crime.

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He called it a clear case of murder and the state government will not allow the culprits to escape the severest of severe punishment. Mann said 17 precious lives have been lost due to the spurious liquor and the people responsible for it deserve no mercy as they did this crime deliberately.

The chief minister categorically said that this crime cannot be carried out without political patronage by the powerful politicians adding that this angle is being probed by the police. He said 10 persons, including the kingpin have been arrested, adding that the police have also identified the forward and backward linkages of the nexus involved in this barbaric crime.

“Let me tell one thing very clearly, my government is firmly committed to ensuring justice to the hapless families by ensuring exemplary punishment to the accused,” added Mann.

The chief minister said the connections of this nexus have been traced upto Delhi and every person involved in this crime will be put behind the bars by the state government. It has come to light that 600 litres of online methanol was ordered by the perpetrators of this grave tragedy which was probably used for making spurious liquor.

He announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of each deceased and said that the state government will bear the entire expense of education of the children of the victim. Likewise, he said that every possible help in terms of jobs and others will also be extended to these families in this hour of grief.