Aligarh hooch tragedy: 22 die and 28 critical

Aligarh: The death toll from spurious liquor consumption in UP’s Aligarh district continued to rise on Saturday, with two dozen villagers having succumbed, while about the same number of people are hospitalised. According to police sources, two brothers Rishi and Munish, both residents of Dhara Ki Garhi in Gonda district, operate a liquor business and have been accused several times of selling spurious liquor in the guise of legal business. Several FIRs have been registered against the two.

Aligarh, May 29: The death toll in the Aligarh hooch tragedy went up to 22 on Saturday, and 28 more people are still in critical condition, an official said. Seven people have died since Friday night, he said and added that the condition of 28 people undergoing treatment at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital, AMU, and the Malkhan Singh District Hospital is critical.

Local BJP MP Satish Gautam, however, told reporters in the afternoon that the death toll has “crossed 30”, citing information he has received from the ground.

Locals fear the death toll may rise further as reports from several villages are still trickling in.

On Friday, additional district magistrate (finance) Vidhan Jaiswal said 15 people had died in villages falling under three separate police stations — Lodha, Khair and Jawan — after consuming spurious liquor.

District magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh while confirming the death toll of 22, said, “Exact figures would be available after the postmortem examination of the bodies lined up at the mortuary is conducted.”

Mr Singh hinted at the possibility that some of those bodies at the postmortem house “could belong to those who have died of other causes, but are being linked to the deaths caused by spurious liquor”.