Click to play videoAhmedabad: There has been an escalation in the number and scale of protests against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi since the Ahmedabad hooch tragedy toll touched 43.
The 43 deaths due to drinking spurious liquor from illicit joints has angered the residents of Ahmedabad.
The mobs turned violent as they clashed with policemen demanding government and police to crack down on illegal liquor dens.
An alarmed state government has set up an inquiry commission headed by a retired High Court judge,
Chief Minister Narendra Modi is being severely criticised for not being able to control the availability of illicit alcohol in Gujarat, a 'dry' state.
Angry residents went on a rampage on Wednesday, pelting stones at the police. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowds and to gain control over the raging protest.
The issue also rocked the Gujarat state assembly on Wednesday morning with a walkout by the opposition and demand for Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation. Family members of the victims blame the police for letting the illegal liquor business flourish.
As many as 29 persons are still being treated at vaious hospitals. Most of the victims are manual labourers. After Majoorgam, the effects of Gujarat's hooch tragedy spread to Odhav locality.
"A boy came home drunk this morning. It has been fours since everyone knows he has consumed liquor but no policeman has shown up," said an anguished resident.
Stung by the hooch deaths and the large scale protests by people, the Gujarat government has set up an inquiry to look into the matter. It has also suspended half a dozen policemen.
The Minister of State for Home in Gujarat, Amit Shah said, "The police station officer will be suspended and the Superintendent of Police will be transferred."
But the Opposition refuses to settle for nothing short of resignation of Gujarat CM Narendra Modi and that of state Home Minister Amit Shah.
Effigies of the CM were burnt in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Opposition Congress learder Arjun Modhvadia points out to alleged massive corruption and presses for the Modi-Shah duo to step down.
State Police Chief S S Khandwawala said hundreds of bootleggers have been rounded up in a period of 24 hours. A furious hunt is on to locate a notorious bootlegger named Hari Shankar Kehar alias Hari, who allegedly supplied the local vendors of spurious liquor in Majoorgam and Odhav.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.