Hooch kills 11 in Aligarh, 3 officials suspended

Eleven people died on Friday and some more were taken ill after allegedly consuming spurious liquor sold by a licensed vendor in Aligarh, a senior official said.

The district excise officer of Aligarh and two others were suspended after the incident.

A departmental action has also been initiated against them, said Additional Chief Secretary (Excise) Sanjay Bhoosreddy.

District Excise Officer Dheeraj Sharma, Excise Inspector Rajesh Kumar Yadav and Head Constable Ashok Kumar have been suspended with immediate effect, he said.

A time-bound magisterial inquiry has been ordered which will be conducted by an additional district magistrate-rank officer, District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh told media persons.

The administration is likely to invoke the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against those found guilty in the inquiry, he said.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Inspector General Dipak Kumar said that the Lodha police station was informed in the morning about the death of two people after consumption of countrymade liquor bought from a vendor in Karsia.

The victims were truck drivers who had gathered at a gas depot on the Aligarh-Tapaal highway for work, he said.

However, when police and senior district officials reached the spot, they were informed that six more people belonging to Karsia and adjoining villages had died, the DIG said, adding that police teams were rushed to the area and the bodies sent for post-mortem examination.

The DM said information about other people who had consumed liquor bought from the same vendor is trickling in.

Speaking to PTI, Deputy Commissioner, Excise, D Sharma said some of those taken ill were rushed to the district hospital and from there, shifted to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital, AMU, later.

He said the liquor vend has been sealed and samples have been collected for testing.

According to locals, people had started falling sick from Thursday. Many others from neighbouring villages had also consumed the liquor, they added.