Ahmedabad: In a significant development, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday rejected the bail application of main accused in the Botad hooch tragedy of July last year in which 42 people were killed, official sources said. The HC rejected the bai application of the main accused Jayesh Khawadia, the Labor Supervisor of Amos Company, the company that had allegedly supplied the liquor in the tragic incident.
The court rejected the bail following arguments put forth by the Public Prosecutor (PP) in the case. According to the PP, the accused Labor Supervisor of Amos Company located at Devraj Industrial Park, Peepalaj area, supplied 600 liters of banned methyl alcohol to local liquor smugglers, who later supplied the liquor in spurious form to the people in Barwala taluka of Botad district in July last year.
Also read: 36 dead after drinking spurious liquor in Gujarat; 14 nabbed so far
The prosecution further charged that the accused in the case had taken the liquor from Jayesh in a tempo adding that the transportation act was caught on a CCTV camera. Hearing the arguments by the PP, the court said that the first cognizable offense directly points against the accused.
Considering the gravity of this crime, it does not seem appropriate to grant bail even after the chargesheet has been filed against the accused in this case, the court said while rejecting the bail of the accused. It can be recalled that more than 42 people had died after consuming 'spurious' liquor in Barwala taluk of Botad district on July 25 last year. Around 2,500 people were arrested by the police in the aftermath crackdown of the tragedy.
