Ahmedabad: The State Monitoring Cell (SMC) arrested 13 more people in connection with the spurious liquor case in Bhavnagar, taking the total number of arrests to 27. Police said sustained questioning of the 14 accused arrested earlier helped investigators unravel the supply chain behind the toxic liquor, that claimed 13 lives.The 13 accused, arrested on Aug 23, were produced before a court, which remanded them in police custody till Sep 2, police said.The case was registered at Vartej police station after deaths initially recorded as accidental were subsequently linked to the consumption of methanol-laced liquor. A total of 21 accused were initially booked under various provisions of BNS and Prohibition Act.Following directions from Gujarat DGP G S Malik, the probe was handed over to the SMC. The agency formed 16 teams and deployed them across Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and several districts of Gujarat to trace the source of methanol and other chemicals, identify the transporters involved and establish the route through which the raw material reached Gujarat.According to police, questioning of 14 accused arrested in the first phase provided crucial leads about the procurement of raw materials, manufacture of the toxic liquor and its subsequent distribution. These leads led cops to the latest arrests.Among those arrested is a resident of Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh, who police said was brought from Ujjain and allegedly played a key role in the conspiracy to manufacture the toxic liquor. Investigators allege that the chemical used in making the liquor was procured through him.The other 12 accused are residents of Bhavnagar city and Ghogha taluka. Police said they were allegedly involved at different stages of the supply chain, including procuring, storing, supplying and selling the spurious liquor.With 27 arrests so far, the SMC is now probing the wider network behind the case. Teams are tracing the movement of methanol and other chemicals through transporters and intermediaries before they reached Gujarat.The SMC has also seized bottles containing the toxic liquor and was collecting evidence to establish the specific role of each accused. Police said further arrests are likely as investigators trace others allegedly involved in the procurement, manufacture and distribution network.
