BANGALORE: The Excise officials did not raid any other place at Chickkabidarakallu village in Nelamangala taluk in Bangalore Rural district where there was a hooch tragedy, except for the houses of four suspects.

Serious efforts were not made to secure the suspects and the persons running a distillery, whose labels were found on the sachets of liquor consumed by the victims.

These were some of the statements made by Thimme Gowda, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Excise) of Bangalore North, before the A.J. Sadashiva Commission of Inquiry, on Saturday.

The commission is probing the hooch tragedy in Nelamangala taluk and Sakleshpur taluk in Hassan district in April 2005.

Replying to questions by Kiran Kumar, counsel for the commission, Mr. Thimme Gowda earlier said they conducted raids on 2,378 places, which included areas where the suspects stayed and carried out their activities.

He then said they did not raid any other place, except the houses of the suspects at Chickkabidarakallu.

Raids

Mr. Thimme Gowda said he was unable to say the number of raids conducted between December 5, 2004, the day of closure of the licensed arrack shop, and April 11, 2005, when the incident took place, in Chickkabidarakallu.

He said some people associated with the sale of illicit liquor were behind the closure of the licensed arrack shop.

Mr. Thimme Gowda said the Excise officials seized 1,090 sachets of hooch, which had the labels of a particular distillery in Kunigal taluk.

They did not interrogate any person of the distillery.

Mr. Thimme Gowda, who was placed under suspension two days after the incident, said they could not interrogate the suspects named by Muniyappa, the complainant, as they (suspects) were absconding.

The Excise officials were going to the houses of the suspects and making enquiries.

"Apart for this we did not make any serious efforts to secure the suspects," he said.

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