# Bhavnagar hooch deaths reach 12 as Gujarat arrests 13 more 2026-08-23T19:49:57+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Three more people died after consuming spurious liquor in Bhavnagar, raising the death toll to 12, the Times of India reports. The deceased include a court peon, a resident of Bharatnagar, and a Gujarat Industrial Security Force jawan. The jawan, Sanjay Dodiya, had travelled to Bhavnagar on August 15, attended a party with policemen where the liquor was allegedly consumed, and brought some back to Surat. He was declared brain-dead on Friday and died on Saturday. The National Herald reports that Gujarat Police have arrested 13 more people, taking the total arrests to 27. The Special Monitoring Cell has deployed 16 teams across five states to trace the supply chain. The liquor was allegedly manufactured at the home of Gautam Solanki in Vartej, using raw materials procured from Ahmedabad by Raees, arrested in Ujjain, and his assistant Zuber. The mixture was packed into bottles resembling a recognised IMFL brand. The accused have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Gujarat Prohibition Act. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both sources deliver straight wire-style reporting with no discernible slant. The Times of India leads with the human toll and victim backgrounds, while the National Herald adds the arrest count and supply-chain investigation details. Their combined coverage paints a full picture: 12 dead, 27 arrested, a cross-state probe under way. The key question for the investigation is whether the police officials present at the party will face action, and whether the forensic report on Dodiya confirms the methanol source. The SMC teams continue their work across five states. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Focuses on death toll and victim details, no framing of government response. - nationalheraldindia.com (neutral report) Provides investigation details and arrest numbers, no evaluative language. This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-25T06:39:12+00:00. Tags: Bhavnagar, Gujarat, Sir T Hospital, spurious liquor, Surat Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bhavnagar-hooch-tragedy-toll-rises-to-12-as-three-more-die/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bhavnagar-hooch-tragedy-toll-rises-to-12-as-three-more-die/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/