Cuddalore: A man has been arrested in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, who is suspected of supplying methanol to illicit liquor traders in Panruti in Cuddalore district 23 years ago. Then 53 people lost their lives due to this liquor tragedy. Police gave this information on Friday.
He told that this man, now 58 years old, had been evading the police for more than two decades and had opened a grocery shop in Tiruppur and settled there. An official said his whereabouts could not be known for many years but later the district police found out his whereabouts were in Tiruppur through mobile phone calls made to him by his relatives. Then the police arrested him on Thursday.
It is said that in November 2001, the same suspect had supplied methanol to illegal liquor traders in Panruti, after which the liquor tragedy took place there. Many people even lost their eyesight after drinking alcohol.
After this incident, the police arrested 21 people, out of which 12 died during the hearing. The hearing is still going on. It had become difficult to trace this suspect because he had changed his name. According to an official, a team led by Pudupettai police inspector arrested him.