AIZAWL:
Hundreds of Mizoram Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC) activists gathered in front of the state’s excise and narcotics minister Dr K Beichhua, on July 13, demanding a Rs 1 crore ex-gratia for Lalhriatpuii, whose death was linked to the department’s raids on her shop that sold local grape wine.
“Your department raided her shop and seized hundreds of bottles of grape wine that left her penniless. Preventing her from continuing her business, her only source of income, dragged her into extreme desperation which affect her mental and physical health and finally led to her death,” the MPYCC said, in a memorandum submitted to the minister on the evening of July 12.
The MPYCC demanded the minister to pay an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to the next of kin of Lalhriatpuii latest by July 13 failing which the MPYCC will do “anything” to seek justice for the deceased.
The MPYCC activists, waging black flags, were greeted by heavy police troops standing guard at the entrance of the minister’s office. However, there was no reports of any physical confrontation and untoward incident.
The MPYC also demanded the minister’s resignation, owning moral responsibility of the death of the woman and to apologise for “falsely” accusing the woman of selling hard liquor.
They demanded either the minister or his PS to come out and listen to their demands.
At 3:35 pm, the minister’s PS came out and offered them talks with the minister. The youth Congress members refused this and insisted that their demands were met with. “Why should we sit for talks as we have made our demands very clear,” MPYCC president Lalmalsawma Nghak said.
Later, the MPYC members dispersed, but to make another move. “We are planning our next course of action. We will not stop until and unless the pitiful woman gets justice,” MPYCC president Lalmalsawma Nghaka said.
As reported earlier, the 52-year-old widow was said to have developed stress and anxiety after Rs 22 lakh worth Mizoram-made grape wines were seized by the excise and narcotics department during a surprise raid on May 27.
The woman, the family’s sole bread-earner, was running grape wines shop at the city’s biggest shopping mall Millennium Centre for more than ten years. On May 27, the excise and narcotics officials raided her shops and three other shops at the shopping mall based on reports that they were selling hard liquor and Korean beer which were later proven to be false.
The excise and narcotics minister Beichhua had also gone on record saying that “his boys mistakenly” seized Mizoram grape wines in their search for whiskey and Korean beers. Despite this statement, not a single bottle of Mizoram grape wine seized by his department was returned to the owners.
Later, the department said that grape wines were illegal under the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition Act, 2019 and were not allowed to be sold.