11 people dead after consuming spurious liquor

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

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

The administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry, which will be conducted by an ADM-rank officer, DM Chandra Bhushan Singh told mediapersons.

The administration is likely to invoke the NSA against those found guilty in the inquiry, he said.

Earlier in the day, DIG Dipak Kumar said 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.

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.