More than two dozen people died after consuming spurious liquor in two districts of Uttar Pradesh, prompting the Yogi Adityanath government to suspend several policemen and excise officers, officials said on Friday.
While 18 deaths were recorded in the western district of Saharanpur, eight died in Kushinagar in Purvanchal, according to R.K. Gautam, U.P. police spokesperson. The toll could go up as police were yet to announce the final figure.
In Saharanpur, deaths were recorded in Umahi, Sarbatpur, Mali and Kolka Kalan village in Sadar area, while four died in Salempur and one in Mayahedi under Deoband area. The victims were aged between 33 and 65 years.
SSP Saharanpur Dinesh Kumar said a local, identified as Pintu, supplied the spurious liquor to village Umahi Kota under police station Nagal where five persons died.
The Chief Minister directed the Principal Secretary, excise, to take departmental action against the excise officers of both districts. A 15-day joint operation of excise and police departments against spurious liquor sellers was also ordered.
Mr. Adityanath also announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 to those undergoing treatment in hospitals.
O.P Singh, U.P. DGP, said preliminary investigation indicated that the spurious liquor in Saharanpur came from Roorkee in Uttrakhand, which shares a boundary with the district.