Bhopal, Jan 23 (PTI) The stringent National Security Act was invoked on Saturday against six persons in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly involvement in the illicit liquor trade, an official said.

The law was invoked by district magistrate Avinash Lavania on the recommendation of Assistant Excise Commissioner Sanjiv Dubey, said a public relations department official.

They were arrested in police action on bootleggers after the January 11 Morena hooch tragedy,in which 24 people lost their lives, he added.

The six have been identified as Mukesh Dhakad (26), Ramesh Kushwaha (42), Vinod Kushwaha (24), Gaurishankar Kethoria (37), Dhiraj Sharma (27) and Kishan Shakya (24).

After the Morena incident, Bhopal police and the district administration registered 127 cases under the Excise Act, seized 1,308 litre of liquor and 52,000 kilograms of 'mahua lahan' a raw material used in preparing illicit liquor.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)