Death Toll Rises – Barabanki Hooch Tragedy, 40 Others Taken Ill
After 17 people died in Barabanki district on consuming spurious liquor on Monday, another three from Mehmudabad succumbed to hooch in neighboring Sitapur district, taking the toll to 20 in 72 hours.
Sandeep Tiwari KGMU, a hospital spokesperson said that the thirty-four people are undergoing treatment and the condition of three is critical. And five-six others have been brought to the Balrampur and Ram Manohar Lohia hospitals in Lucknow.
The tragedy led to the suspension of 10 excises and two police officers, state Excise Minister Jai Pratap Singh said.
After the arrest of main accused Pappu Jaiswal police have now arrested Danveer Singh and a total of six arrests have been made so far in this case.
The hooch deaths in Sitapur came to the light when the doctors at the district hospital informed the superintendent of police and higher officials about the casualties. Six policemen, including SHO Mehmudabad, were suspended on Thursday amid allegation that local cops tried to hush up the tragedy.
Barabanki Excise Officer Shiv Narayan Dubey, Excise Inspector Ramtirath Maurya, three head constables and five constables of the excise department have been suspended with immediate effect. Circle Officer Pawan Gautam and Station House Officer Rajesh Kumar Singh have also been suspended on the charges of dereliction of duty, the minister said.
Barabanki Hooch Tragedy
The deceased Vinod (30), Vijay (30), both resident of Saidanpur village, and Sumairi Lal (40) of Sajora village, in Mehmudabad, died in Sitapur district hospital, said police. Vijay Lal (35) of Sajora village, Santram(38), Vipin Kumar (30), Chandrashekhar (40) and Munnilal (38) of Saidanpur village, had taken ill after consuming the toxic brew.
Inspector general of police ( Lucknow range) S.K Bhagat said all the victims consumed liquor from the kiosk of accused Kanhaiya Kumar at a fair in Mehmudabad on May 19 and began falling ill from Monday.
In Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand, around 100 people had died in another hooch death or tragedy in February this year. Less than two weeks later, more than 120 people died, mostly tea estate workers, after consuming a locally brewed liquor called ‘sulai’, which is made of jaggery and ethyl alcohol, in Golaghat and Jorhat districts of Assam.
