Lucknow, Jun 3(UNI) Five people died and 22 others were taken ill after consuming spurious liquor in a village in Aligarh, days after another hooch tragedy claimed 35 lives in the district.
On Wednesday night, some brick kiln labourers consumed country-made liquor dumped in a canal near Rohera village in Jawan area, police said.
'It appears that some persons involved in the spurious liquor trade dumped their entire stock in the canal fearing a raid," Senior Superintendent of Police, Kalanidhi Naithani told reporters.
According to locals, after founding the liquor, the labourers started celebrating but shortly after consuming it, they all started feeling unwell. An alarm was raised and a police party from nearby Jawan police station rushed to the spot and took the victims to a hospital.
Chief Superintendent of Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College hospital Harris Manzor said five people have died so far, three of whom were brought dead. "Doctors are battling to save the lives of the remaining 22 victims," he said, adding that throughout the night critically ill patients arrived at the hospital.
'Till Thursday morning, 27 people arrived. We could have saved some more lives, if they reached the medical facility earlier, as the first six hours are crucial in such cases, Dr Manzor said.
Meanwhile, the police said that the matter is being investigated and a case has been filed against unnamed persons.
Since the first death in the May 28 hooch tragedy, post-mortem examinations of 87 suspected victims have been conducted.
Thirty-four people have been arrested so far. Over the past few days, reports from several hospitals indicated a large number of victims of the previous hooch tragedy suffered severe eye damage and permanent loss of vision.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Bhanu Pratap Kalyani said at least 13 patients suffered severe eye problems after consuming the spurious liquor last week. "Some of them have shown signs of recovery," he said.
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