Man arrested in tainted liquor case

Confesses to mixing toxic chemical in the liquor.

FAISALABAD:

Police on Monday arrested a man they said had sold tainted liquor resulting in at least 24 deaths reported from Christian Town in Warispura last week.

They said the suspect had confessed to spiking the liquor “to make it taste better”. Police also arrested a doctor and his son, who they said, had sold him the chemical.

City Police Officer Abdur Razzaq Cheema said on Monday Batala Colony police had arrested a liquor dealer, Babar Masih, who had led the police to Younas Masih’s house.

They had also arrested a woman bootlegger, identified as Shagufta Bibi alias Bubbly, who said that she, too, had bought the toxic liquor from Younas Masih.

Younas Masih told police that he had purchased the chemical (T-20) from Dr Habibullah and his son Arshad Habib.

He said the doctor had purchased the chemical a year-and-a-half-ago from Lahore. He had used it to paint the house and had sold him the remaining chemical saying “mixing it in liquor improves its quality and taste”.

Younas Masih said he had bought the chemical at Rs4,100 and had mixed it in liquor. He said he had sold 15 pounds to Babar Masih and 20 pounds to Shagufta Bibi at Rs100 per pound.

He said when he found out that there had been some death due to the liquor he sold, he had thrown the rest of the liquor for fear of being arrested.

The CPO said that the police were questioning the doctor and his son. He said the police had traced 20 fraud and other cases against the doctor in several police stations.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2013.