UP: 2017 Azamgarh hooch tragedy key accused, four aides in police net

VARANASI: Hooch trader Dharmendra Maurya — the main accused in the Sagadi tragedy that claimed 32 lives in Azamgarh two years ago — was nabbed along with four accomplices from Itaura area under Sidhari thana of the same district on Thursday. Maurya’s arrest comes close on the heels of a June 3 encounter in Fatehpur, Barabanki, that resulted in the arrest of another spurious liquor dealer, Sunil Jaiswal, the key accused in the over two dozen hooch deaths in Barabanki and Sitapur last month.
Azamgarh SP Triveni Singh said Maurya had been arrested and sent to jail after the 2017 hooch tragedy. He, however, resumed his unauthorised business after being discharged, prompting police to announce a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head.
On Thursday morning, police acted on a tip-off and raided a suspected hideout in Itaura. Maurya and his aides were caught red-handed filling up bottles. As many as 192 crates, together containing 2,360 bottles, and two big drums of spurious liquor were seized from his den along with Rs 1.45 lakh in cash.
SP Singh said efforts were being made to round up other members of Maurya’s network. “We are also zeroing in on places where he supplied hooch in the recent past,” the senior officer added.