Karni Sena leader to history-sheeter: How Sagar’s hooch network worked

Sagar Superintendent of Police Anurag Sujaniya announced that a probe into recent hooch deaths has led to the identification of 30 accused individuals, of whom 17 have been taken into custody. The prime accused is Chandrabhan Singh Rajput, also known as Chandu, who serves as the divisional president of the Karni Sena, and he is alleged to have collaborated with licensed liquor contractor Manish Lodhi (alias Yashwant Thakur) and Shivanjay Rajput, a distant relative, to produce the spurious spirit.

According to police statements, the illicit operation involved sourcing raw spirit, mixing it in a maize field at Tatarwara, and packaging the concoction under the familiar “Sagar Gold” label. Roughly 50 bottles were prepared and moved to a nearby village ahead of the Krishna Janmashtami festival. Investigators recovered empty bottles, labels and other packaging material. The arrest of 45‑year‑old Ravi Lakhera, a history‑sheeter with about 25 pending cases, followed a brief gunfight near the Hanuman Tong Temple on the Banda‑Barayatha road, during which he was wounded in the leg. A 12‑gauge pistol, cartridges, spent casings and a motorcycle were seized, while two accomplices escaped.

The case follows a series of deaths linked to cheap, unregulated liquor in the Sagar district, affecting dozens of families. Authorities suspect that the involvement of a Karni Sena leader points to a broader nexus between cultural organisations and illegal alcohol trade. Police are also probing whether Lakhera’s earlier alleged participation in an illicit‑liquor racket in Lalitpur is connected to the current operation, underscoring the challenge of curbing counterfeit spirit production in the region.