The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Bagicha Singh on Tuesday issued non-bailable warrants against Punjab Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, two Punjab ministers, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and Laljit Singh Bhullar, several AAP MLAs and party workers after they failed to appear before it in a case pertaining to staging a dharna against the then Amarinder Singh government over the hooch tragedy in 2020.

Noting their absence in the matter, the Punjab court issued non-bailable warrants against nine persons. The deaths were recorded in Amristar’s Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur’s Batala, where AAP had carried out protests under Bhagwant Singh Mann, who is now the Punjab Chief Minister. The protesters were detained, and later released.

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In 2020, AAP leaders were booked under Section 188 of the CrPC and the Disaster Management Act for flouting COVID norms by the Sadar police after they had staged a dharna against the state government over illicit liquor trade and the hooch tragedy, that claimed over 100 lives, in front of the District Administrative office. The AAP protesters, while sitting on a dharna, demanded a CBI probe and cornered the then Congress government over its inability to curb illicit liquor trade, alleging that the ruling party in the state is in cahoots with the liquor mafia.

Meanwhile, Punjab Excise minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday directed officials to launch a campaign against the illicit sale of extra neutral alcohol in the state, as it not only bleeds the state exchequer but can have potentially deadly consequences for drinkers.

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“Also sensitize the methanol dealers in coordination with district administration to ensure that there is no illegal pilferage or unauthorised sale of methyl alcohol which can lead to hooch tragedies,” said the Excise minister in an official statement.