Bhavnagar Spurious Liquor Deaths: 21 Booked, 13 Arrested In Alleged Methanol-Laced ‘Royal Stag’ Racket

Three people have died and at least 16 others have been hospitalised in Bhavnagar after allegedly consuming spurious liquor, with Gujarat police uncovering an alleged racket involving the manufacture, bottling and distribution of methanol-laced liquor carrying counterfeit ‘Royal Stag Superior Whisky’ labels.

The Vartej police have named 21 people in the case, alleging that they conspired to manufacture and sell poisonous liquor for financial gain despite being aware of the potential danger to consumers. The Gujarat State Monitoring Cell (SMC) has taken over the investigation and arrested 13 accused so far.

Three Deaths Trigger Probe Into Spurious Liquor

The investigation began after 25-year-old Upendrasinh Chandrasinh Gohil of Kharkadi village in Ghogha taluka was admitted to Sir Takhtasinhji General Hospital in Bhavnagar on August 18 with vomiting, breathing difficulties and other symptoms.

Gohil had allegedly consumed liquor at a gathering in Kharkadi village on the night of August 16. He died during treatment at around 3 pm.

Police subsequently linked two more deaths to liquor from bottles bearing similar ‘Royal Stag’ stickers.

Kartikbhai Ashwinbhai Makwana, 40, of Bhavnagar, allegedly consumed liquor from one such bottle and died during treatment after developing breathing difficulties.

The third deceased, Narendra Singh Yadav, a resident of Morena in Madhya Pradesh, allegedly consumed the liquor and was taken to Ved Hospital in Bhavnagar, where he later died.

Police have alleged that Yadav, also known as ‘Doctor’, had been brought from Madhya Pradesh to assist in manufacturing the liquor. Investigators are examining his alleged role in the production as well as the circumstances of his death.

FSL Finds 38.59% Methanol In Seized Bottle

A bottle containing around 200 ml of saffron-coloured liquid was recovered from the location where the liquor had allegedly been consumed. It carried a ‘Royal Stag Superior Whisky’ label but did not have a batch number.

The bottle was sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Gandhinagar.

According to the FSL report, the liquid contained 38.59 per cent methanol by volume and only 0.94 per cent ethanol.

Methanol was also detected in blood samples collected from deceased persons and several patients undergoing treatment.

The forensic findings have strengthened the police's suspicion that the liquid consumed by the victims was not genuine branded liquor but an allegedly manufactured methanol-laced preparation.

Police Allege Manufacturing Operation In Bhavnagar

According to the investigation, Gautam Veerambhai Solanki allegedly came into contact with a man identified as Raees from Ujjain through another person named Manoj.

Police allege that the two discussed manufacturing liquor and decided to produce it in Bhavnagar.

Gautam, Raees and Raees's associate Zubair allegedly travelled to Ahmedabad to procure raw materials. Investigators allege that liquid material, empty bottles, cans, stickers and methanol were obtained from Sarkhej and other locations before being transported to Bhavnagar.

Police allege that the group initially manufactured around 51 boxes of liquor, which were sold within a short period. A subsequent batch was allegedly found to be of poor quality and destroyed.

Investigators allege that Raees later brought Narendra Singh Yadav alias ‘Doctor’ from Madhya Pradesh to assist with manufacturing. Saras Dashrathbhai Solanki, Ganesh and Aman are also alleged to have been involved in subsequent attempts.

Police allege that around 25 boxes of methanol-laced liquor were eventually manufactured and distributed among bootleggers and consumers in Bhavnagar.

Alleged Supply Chain Under Investigation

Investigators have traced an alleged distribution network involving several people.

According to the police, six boxes were supplied to Gautam Solanki and Paras alias Pappu Laljibhai Chudasama, three boxes to Sanjay Rawatbhai Chavda, two boxes to Jaideep Jivrajbhai Makwana and 13 boxes to Bhargav Kanaiyalal Bhatt.

Of the 13 boxes allegedly received by Bhargav, 11 were supplied to Vivek Arjanbhai Algotar, also known as Bharwad.

Police allege that Vivek subsequently supplied six boxes to Harsh Rohitbhai Chauhan and five boxes to Keval alias Sanga Rameshbhai Solanki.

Investigators are now examining the alleged chain to determine how the liquor moved from the manufacturing location in Vartej to different parts of Bhavnagar district.

35 Bottles Seized In Separate Bhavnagar Raid

A separate seizure by Nilambagh police on August 18 has provided another lead to investigators.

Acting on a tip-off, police allegedly raided a government quarter near the jail ground in Bhavnagar and seized 35 bottles of 750 ml ‘Royal Stag Superior Whisky’ from Sanjay Rawatbhai Chavda.

The bottles carried labels claiming that the liquor had been blended and bottled by a company in Rajasthan and was intended for sale in Punjab.

Chavda allegedly told police that he had obtained the bottles from Gautam Solanki after travelling to Bapa Sitaram Garage in Vartej.

Police have registered a separate case against Chavda under the Gujarat Prohibition Act and are examining whether the seized bottles were connected to the same alleged supply network.

At Least 16 Hospitalised

At least 16 people were hospitalised in Bhavnagar after allegedly falling ill following consumption of liquor from bottles carrying similar Royal Stag stickers.

The patients include Hitesh Joshi, Kapil Devmurari, Abdul Shamim Khan, Abhay Dihora, Bhavin Parmar, Vishwarajsinh Gohil, Harpalsinh Gohil, Ghanshyamsinh Jadeja, Hardik Khilji, Baldevsinh Gohil, Ravibhai Rathod, Harshad Rathod, Jaywantsinh Gohil, Vipul Makwana, Kanaksinh Gohil and Sudhir Rawal.

Patients were undergoing treatment at Sir Takhtasinhji General Hospital, Arogyam Hospital, Arham Hospital and other medical facilities in Bhavnagar.

Blood samples from several patients were collected and sent for forensic analysis.

13 Arrested, Teams Sent Outside Gujarat

Following the deaths and hospitalisations, Gujarat police handed the investigation to the SMC.

Under the supervision of SMC Police Inspector S M Jadeja, multiple teams were formed and 13 accused were arrested.

Police have also seized bottles, chemicals allegedly used in manufacturing the liquor, colouring material, counterfeit stickers, bottle caps, sticker rolls and packaging material.

Investigators said some of the materials were allegedly procured from different parts of the country through transport services. Teams have been sent to various locations in Gujarat and other states to trace the remaining accused and investigate the wider network.

21 Named In FIR

The 21 people named in the FIR are Raees of Ujjain, Gautam Veerambhai Solanki, Saras Dashrathbhai Solanki, Jatin Surabhai Kambad, Ganesh, Aman, Manoj, Zubair of Ujjain, Narendra Singh Yadav alias Doctor, Dharmendrasinh Batuksinh Gohil, Mandeep Singh Prithvirajsinh Gohil, Paras alias Pappu Laljibhai Chudasama, Arjunsinh Kalubha Gohil, Sanjay Rawatbhai Chavda, Jaideep Jivrajbhai Makwana, Bhargav Kanaiyalal Bhatt, Vivek Arjanbhai Algotar alias Bharwad, Harsh Rohitbhai Chauhan, Keval alias Sanga Rameshbhai Solanki, Sukhdev Badhabhai Salat and Hardik Baraiya alias Tincho.

The 13 arrested accused include Gautam Solanki, Jatin Kambad, Saras Solanki, Paras Chudasama, Mandeep Singh Gohil, Dharmendrasinh Gohil, Jaideep Makwana, Harsh Chauhan, Vivek Algotar, Bhargav Bhatt, Keval Solanki, Sukhdev Salat and Hardik Baraiya.

Police are seeking remand of the arrested accused to establish their individual roles, trace the source of methanol and other raw materials, identify manufacturing locations and map the complete distribution network.

Investigators are also examining mobile phone records, transport details, financial transactions and other evidence to establish links between the accused and determine whether the alleged racket extended beyond Bhavnagar.