CHENNAI: The BJP on Saturday demanded the immediate resignation of Tamil Nadu Prohibition and Excise Minister S Muthusamy over a recent hooch tragedy in the State and accused the ruling DMK of shielding the culprits. The saffron party also demanded a probe into the incident by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Shehzad Poonawalla described the deaths as “state-sponsored murder” and held the ruling DMK in the southern state “solely responsible” for the tragedy.

Poonawalla also said the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) should take suo-motu cognizance of the incident and issue notices to the Tamil Nadu government and state police chief, asking who is responsible for the deaths.