Spurious liquor deaths: Toll now 11, 6 arrested in Kanpur

A liquor shop which was sealed in Madhauli village in Kanpur Dehat district on Sunday. (PTI)

Eleven people have died and around 10 fell ill after consuming spurious liquor over the last two days in Kanpur Nagar and Kanpur Dehat districts, said police. District Magistrate Rakesh Singh ordered a magisterial probe into the matter. While six people died in Kanpur Nagar, five others died in Kanpur Dehat, police said, adding that the same spurious alcohol was supplied to both districts. Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident, of which two are being questioned.

Regional Excise Inspector of Kanpur Nagar has been suspended. A team comprising administrative and excise department officials is investigating the matter. “While four people died in Kanpur Nagar on Saturday after consuming spurious alcohol, the fifth person lost his life on Sunday morning during treatment. Four others died in Kanpur Nagar. The same batch of country-made liquor (batch 442 of Madhuri brand) had reached the liquor shops in Bhool village of Sachendi police station area (Kanpur Nagar) and Madauli village of Rura police station area (Kanpur Dehat),” said Inspector General (IG), Kanpur Range, Alok Singh. Both villages are 7 km apart.

Singh added that around ten people are admitted in Kanpur’s Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital, and their condition was stable. Meanwhile, Kanpur Nagar SSP Akhilesh Kumar said another person who had died on Saturday — whose family had initially suspected that he had suffered a heart attack — was found to have also consumed the spurious liquor. “We are counting him in the deaths related to this case and that will take the toll in the district to six, he added.

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“We have arrested six people in this case so far. Four of them — identified as Sandeep Yadav, Ramu Sharma, Monu Kashyap and Manzur Ahmad — have been sent to jail while the main accused, Vinay Kumar, and his relative Neeraj Singh, are being questioned. Vinay supplied liquor to both the shops,” said SSP Kumar.

IG Alok Singh said that the liquor licenses of both shops were procured under the name of Shyam Balak Yadav, who is still absconding. He further said that Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma had visited the victims in the hospital, while Principal Secretary (Excise) Kalpana Awasthi had inspected the affected villages.