The New Indian Express ·
Key accused in 'Sagar Hooch' tragedy that killed 25 people, arrested after police encounter
Bhopal: The key accused behind the spurious liquor tragedy that killed over 25 people in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district was arrested by the police on Frid
Bhopal: The key accused behind the spurious liquor tragedy that killed over 25 people in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district was arrested by the police on Friday.
The 45-year-old Ravi Lakhera, who hails from MP’s Chhatarpur district, was arrested following a short encounter in the jungles near the Hanuman Tong temple in the early morning.
During a brief exchange of fire, a bullet wounded the alleged inter-state liquor smuggler’s leg.
While Lakhera was arrested and is under treatment at a hospital, two of his aides managed to escape into the thick forests.
The accused has at least 25 criminal cases against him in multiple districts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. He was last arrested on May 4 this year by the Kotwali police in UP's Lalitpur district.
The UP Police had, in May 2026, claimed to have busted an inter-state spurious liquor syndicate run by Lakhera in association with his wife Shivani and others.
Five persons had then been arrested, and major seizures, including chemicals and other equipment used in making liquor that resembled major country-made and IMFL brands, being sold in the adjoining MP, had been seized.
Besides a sum of Rs 5.5 lakh cash, multiple vehicles, including an AUDI and Creta cars used in supplying the spurious liquor to MP districts, were also seized by the police during the same time.
Lakhera owned multiple licensed liquor shops in Chhatarpur. He was released on bail last month, after which he reorganised his aides and started his spurious liquor racket again.
The accused came in contact with Tatarwara based Karni Sena leader Chandrabhan alias Chandu Rajput and Barethi liquor shop contractor Manish Lodhi, besides Chandu’s close relative Shivanjay Rajput. Around 50 cases of spurious liquor were prepared at Chandu's agricultural plot in Tatarwara village ahead of Krishna Janmashtami festival.
The liquor that was prepared at the plot was supplied through Lodhi’s supply network at much cheaper rates than the original Sagar Gold and Bombay Whisky brands.
While Lakhera has been arrested, Lodhi is still on the run. So far, 18 out of the 33 accused named in the two FIRs have been arrested and multiple police teams are conducting raids for the remaining accused.