A sub-inspector and two assistant sub-inspectors of Malipanchghora police station in Howrah were suspended on Friday for their alleged negligence in duty following hooch deaths in the city earlier this month.
Sources in Howrah police said a preliminary probe by senior officers revealed the negligence of the three police officers. "The three have been informed about the decision," said an officer of the state police directorate.
Eleven persons died after consuming hooch in Ghusuri, north Howrah, about a stone’s throw from the local police station. Around 40 local residents who had consumed the hooch had reported sick and had to be admitted to hospitals in Howrah and Kolkata.
Those who consumed the liquor had started dying from the early hours of July 20. Over the next three days, the toll rose.
Angry residents of the area had blocked roads in the area protesting the alleged negligence of the police in cracking down on illegal hooch dens that have been operating with impunity in the area.
A groups of youths had barged into some of the dens and pulled out jerrycans allegedly filled with spurious liquor. Later, a police force went to the locality in Ghusuri and took the bodies for post-mortem.
A section of residents had alleged that the hooch dens were controlled by a man who was hand in glove with the police. Some of the residents had said that the police would never bother to raid the dens and destroy them even though they were located close to the police station.
Later, the police conducted raids at various places across the state and arrested six persons, including Pratap Karmakar, the alleged kingpin.