In a healing touch to the bereaved families affected due to Hooch tragedy, the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday announced to enhance the compensation being given to the victim families from existing Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.The Chief Minister, who visited Tarn Taran to share his sympathies with the bereaved families hailing from the district, said that perpetrators of this heinous crime would not be spared at any cost and severest of severe action would be taken against them. During interaction with the families, he further announced that those victims who have lost their eyesight in the tragedy would also get a financial assistance worth Rs. 5 lakh. Handing over a cheque of Rs. 2.92 Crore for 92 victim families of Tarn Taran to the Deputy Commissioner, Captain Amarinder Singh unequivocally said that anyone, however affluent he might be, responsible for this atrocious crime would not be spared at any cost.Pointing out further, the Chief Minister said that investigations are already underway in this case and Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta has been directed to further expedite the same. Terming these deaths as murder, Captain Amarinder categorically said that the perpetrators of this heinous crime deserve no leniency since it is a man made tragedy.
Captain Amarinder Singh said that in order to ensure that culprits get exemplary punishment special prosecution teams would be deputed to vigorously pursue these cases adding that the properties of those responsible for this unpardonable act be confiscated.The Chief Minister said that the state government was duty-bound to ensure strictest punishment to the culprits so that it acts as a deterrent for others in the future. Underscoring the need to refrain from politicking over the sensitive issue at this juncture, Captain Amarinder Singh reiterated his government’s commitment to stand by the victim families in this hour of grief by extending a helping hand in providing jobs, education and other social security benefits to them.Earlier, in his address the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Sunil Jakhar lambasted at the SAD-BJP alliance for nurturing the liquor mafia which ultimately led to this tragedy of such a magnitude. Without mincing any words Jakhar said that this tragedy was an outcome of criminal negligence and merits exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of this crime. Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included; President Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Sunil Jakhar, Lok Sabha MP from Khadoor Sahib Jasbir Singh Gill (Dimpa), Mining & Geology Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Suresh Kumar, Chairman Punjab State Warehousing Corporation and MLA Raj Kumar Verka, MLAs Ramanjit Singh Sikki, Santokh Singh Bhalaipur, Harminder Singh Gill, Sukhpal Singh Bhullar and Inderbir Singh Bularia besides Deputy Commissioner Tarn Taran Kulwant Singh and others.