Sanjay called a bootlegger after his first peg: Surat victim took liquor from Nari Chokdi, went blind

Avinash Parmar, a resident of Ghogha Road, and 35-year-old Hardik Hareshbhai Kilji, a resident of Vardhmannagar in the Bharatnagar area, also died. Three people died in the tragedy on August 22 alone.

Sanjaysinh Dodiya, who was travelling from Bhavnagar to Surat, ordered a bottle of liquor from a bootlegger near Nari Chokdi. The liquor was filled into a plastic bottle before he began his bus journey.

After taking his first peg, he felt unwell and complained to the bootlegger that the liquor was bad. Despite this, he consumed around three-quarters of the bottle during the journey. After reaching Sarathana in Surat and continuing to feel unwell, his brother-in-law took him to a room in Majuragate.

At around 8pm, Dodiya told his brother-in-law that his vision had become blurred, but the family did not take the symptoms seriously. At 10am the following day, he developed a severe headache. Assuming it was a hangover, he drank alcohol again. His condition then deteriorated and he completely lost his eyesight.

Alarmed by the situation, he informed a friend. The friend and his brother-in-law immediately took him to Mangaldeep Hospital in Hirabaug.