Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed profound grief over the deaths in the hooch tragedy in Barabanki and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased.
A government communiqué released on Thursday said that CM Yogi Adityanath asked officials to ensure proper treatment of those taken ill and ordered an inquiry by a joint team of Excise and Home department officials.
Interestingly on Thursday, District Magistrate of Barabanki underpayed the number of 12 deaths and claimed that only three persons had died in the incident.
``A total of 11 people have died in the district in the past 24 hours because of different reasons including three persons who died after consuming spirit,” asserted DM of Barabanki, Akhilesh Tewari and SP, Anil Kumar Singh.
Talking to media persons, the officers claimed that the spirit was purchased from a shop near Dewa mazaar on Tuesday and
consumed by some people of whom three died. Three others were taken ill and were undergoing treatment at different hospitals.
Refuting reports about 12 deaths in the incident, the DM said that besides three deaths due to liquor, one person died due to heart attack, two after being taken ill due to cold and five others died due to different diseases. The DM identified the liquor incident victims as Avnish (40), Kanshi Ram (45) and Ram Suresh (35) and said that their families said that they were taken ill after consuming spirit and were rushed to a hospital where they died.
The DM further informed that the fatal liquor was purchased from a licenced shop whose owner has been taken into custody for questioning and the spirit was sent for examination. He said that the bodies were also sent for autopsy to ascertain the actual cause of deaths.