Sagar, Sep 23: A key accused in the Sagar spurious liquor tragedy, which claimed 20 lives, was arrested along with his associate after a brief exchange of fire with police in the district early Wednesday, officials said.

Police intercepted Manish Lodhi alias Yashwant, who was carrying a reward of Rs 30,000, and his associate Ashish Sahu around 3 a.m. near the Nonia-Sesai Road valley under Malthoun police station limits.

Police said the two accused opened fire when the team tried to apprehend them. The personnel retaliated, injuring Lodhi in the leg, while Sahu sustained injuries while allegedly attempting to flee. Two country-made pistols, five rounds of ammunition and a baseball bat were recovered from the spot, police said.

The injured accused were taken to hospital for treatment and subsequently arrested. “The accused opened fire at the police team during the operation. The police returned fire in self-defence, and both the accused were apprehended,” a police official said.

Lodhi was the licensed contractor of the Barethi liquor shop, and police have alleged that he was involved in the supply of illicit liquor to villages. The administration cancelled the liquor shop contract after the tragedy.

Police said Lodhi had 11 criminal cases registered against him and had allegedly obtained the liquor contract by using the alias Yashwant Singh Thakur. He claimed that Yashwant was his brother. Police said a separate fraud case was registered after his identity came to light.

The arrest comes against the backdrop of the spurious liquor tragedy in Banda and Shahgarh areas of Sagar district earlier this month. Police have alleged that a network involving the manufacture, supply and distribution of illicit liquor was operating in the affected villages. So far, 52 people have been named as accused in the case, of whom 39 have been arrested, while 11 remain absconding, according to police.

Two accused, Ramsingh and Dinesh Shivhare, also died after allegedly consuming the spurious liquor. The Madhya Pradesh government has constituted a judicial commission headed by retired Justice V.P.S. Chauhan to inquire into the tragedy and has submitted details of the action taken before the High Court.

On Tuesday, the state government told the High Court that 20 people died in the incident and compensation was provided to the affected families. It also reported arrests, sealing of liquor shops, collection of samples, and medical screening of people in the affected areas.

Investigation is continuing into the entire chain, from manufacture to supply and distribution of the spurious liquor.

Further action will be taken on the basis of the evidence collected. The arrested accused are being questioned to establish the source of the liquor and identify others involved in the supply network, according to police.

A massive fire broke out at a Mercedes workshop in Balaji Market in Rajasthan’s Jaipur, destroying around eight cars along with expensive spare parts and accessories.

Thick smoke from the blaze was visible from nearly five kilometres away. The incident happened late Tuesday night.

The workshop falls under the jurisdiction of the Sanganer Sadar police station. Soon after the fire was reported, police and fire brigade teams rushed to the spot and launched efforts to contain the flames. Power supply to the surrounding area was also cut off as a precautionary measure to prevent the fire from spreading.

More than 50 cars, including both new and old vehicles, were parked at the workshop when the fire broke out.

The intense flames engulfed around eight vehicles before firefighters could contain the blaze. Several other cars were moved out of the workshop in time by firefighters and police personnel, preventing potentially greater damage.

Fire Officer Usha Sharma said around 10 fire tenders were deployed to control the blaze. The fire tenders reportedly made more than two dozen trips while battling the flames for nearly two hours. Sanganer Sadar SHO Kamlesh Sharma said several vehicles were safely removed from the premises during the operation.

Also, no loss of life was reported in the incident.

Preliminary investigation suggests that a short circuit may have triggered the fire. However, the exact cause is yet to be formally established. Police and fire officials are assessing the extent of damage to the vehicles, spare parts and other material inside the workshop.

Further details are expected as the investigation progresses.

Earlier in the day, a fire had also broken out at a mall near Narayan Singh Circle in Jaipur at around 2 p.m., triggering panic among people inside the premises. The mall’s electricity supply was switched off immediately after the fire was detected. Two fire tenders reached the spot and brought the blaze under control after around 30 minutes.

New Delhi, Sep 22: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday questioned how former Congress president Sonia Gandhi got her name added in the 1980 electoral rolls despite not being a citizen of India at that time, while accusing the grand old party of “theft of democracy”.

This comes a day after a Delhi Court set aside a magisterial court’s order that had refused to filing of an FIR against Sonia Gandhi for allegedly getting her name added in the electoral rolls of 1980, three years before getting Indian citizenship.

Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said: “In 1980, Sonia Gandhi was not a citizen of India. So, a petition was filed in the court at that time questioning that when Sonia Gandhi was not a citizen of India, under what provisions was she allowed to vote?”

“Did they attempt forgery of documents, given that from 1980 to 1983, the Congress party was in power (at the Centre)? During hearing of the matter yesterday, the Sessions Court in Delhi ordered the magisterial court to investigate whether a cognizable offence has been committed—meaning, whether the Congress Party and the Gandhi-Vadra family used fake documents to make Sonia Gandhi, who was not a citizen of India in 1980, cast vote,” he said.

Bhandari underlined that if someone makes fake documents, then under Section 337 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), there can be a punishment of up to 7 years, and it is a cognizable offence.

Further, the BJP leader alleged: “Those making ‘vote chori’ allegations, are themselves involved in ‘theft of democracy’.”

“The prima facie observation of the court states that the magisterial court which had set aside the case, ‘did not use application of mind’ and it did not perform its core function of discerning the disclosure of a cognizable offence. This means that the sessions court also accepts that the ‘theft of democracy’ by Sonia Gandhi, should be probed,” he said.

Pradeep Bhandari also lashed out at Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ event in Indore, stating that individuals in public life cannot act as trolls and comedians.

“Rahul Gandhi can act like one, but a certain serious is required in public discourse which demands accountability from those holding public office,” he said.

The BJP spokesperson also asked the LoP to respond to the allegations against his mother, Sonia Gandhi.

“Rahul Gandhi, who goes around holding a copy of the Constitution, should reply regarding how Sonia Gandhi was able to vote in 1980? Did the then Indira Gandhi-led government help her by making forge papers?” he asked.