MULTAN, Sept 7: The district police have reportedly rounded up a close aide of an alleged bootlegger, who has been figured out as the main culprit for illegally manufacturing tainted liquor that has so far claimed lives of about 36 people in the Multan and Muzaffargarh districts.

Sources in the department said Muhammad Khan of Alipur tehsil (Muzaffargarh) had been arrested for his alleged links with bootleggers. The police have already registered nine cases with seven different police stations of the city under various sections of Pakistan Penal Code and Anti-Terrorism Act (1997) against Israr Sherazi, who is charged with illegally producing liquor that proved fatal to about three dozen people.

Sources said Sherazi used to stock the liquor at the warehouse of Muhammad Khan for its distribution in Muzaffargarh and adjoining districts. However, the police authorities declined to confirm the arrest.

Earlier, the police had arrested Nazar alias Naja and Muhammad Aslam for allegedly selling the lethal liquor on the report of some of the victims. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded a judicial inquiry into the tragedy. When talked, doctors at the Nishter Hospital said two of the victims, Ikram and Nusrat, were still in critical condition.