Sagar hooch tragedy suspect shot and arrested after forest gunfight

Police in Madhya Pradesh have arrested a 21-year-old suspect wanted in connection with a toxic liquor tragedy that has killed 16 people. Shivanjay Rajput was shot in the leg during a brief gunfight with officers in the forests of Sagar district early on Sunday morning.

The arrest of Rajput, who carried a 30,000-rupee bounty on his head, brings the number of suspects detained in the bootlegging investigation to 19.

The confrontation took place at around 4:00 AM in the Kathua Nala forest, which sits under the jurisdiction of the Bahrol police station. Investigators had received a tip-off that Rajput was hiding in the woods and might attempt to ride his motorcycle along the Dhamoni-Bahrol road to reach his home village of Chhapri.

In response to the intelligence, police teams from the Bandri and Bahrol stations set up a cordon. When Rajput emerged on a motorbike and spotted the officers, he allegedly opened fire instead of surrendering.

Police officials said Rajput fired three rounds at the officers. The security forces returned fire with two shots, one of which struck him in the leg and ended the pursuit.

Officers recovered a country-made .315-bore pistol, three live cartridges, three spent casings, a mobile phone, and the motorcycle from the scene. Sub-inspector R.K.S. Chauhan, who heads the Sagar police control room, confirmed that Rajput was taken to a district hospital under arrest, where his condition remains stable.

The local administration has been reeling from the scale of the tragedy, which began unfolding last week. The toxic counterfeit liquor has claimed 16 lives so far, largely centered around Bamura Bheda village, and officials warn that the death toll could still rise as at least one hospitalised victim remains in a critical condition.

Investigators believe the counterfeit operation is linked to an organised gang based in Lalitpur, across the state border in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, which has been manufacturing and supplying the lethal home brew.

Rajput, who already had three criminal cases on his record including a history of liquor smuggling, is accused of helping brew the toxic batch.

His capture is the second armed encounter in the investigation within 48 hours. On Friday, police arrested another principal suspect, Ravi Lakhera, following a similar brief shoot-out. Lakhera, a resident of Lalitpur who has 25 criminal cases against his name, was also carrying a 30,000-rupee bounty for his suspected role in manufacturing the contaminated liquor.