Barabanki tremor: Excise, police launch crackdown

KANPUR: The hooch tragedy which claimed 10 lives in Barabanki on Tuesday has once again put spotlight on the illicit liquor business which has been running right under the nose of police and excise department in Kanpur region over the years.
Apart from seven hooch deaths in Ghatampur area on March 7, two deaths following consumption of poisonous liquor were reported from Maharajpur and Bidhnoo on March 14 and March 15, respectively.
The preliminary investigation had confirmed that a well-oiled network of illicit liquor vends was in existence in the region and several illicit liquor factories were unearthed within a few days of the incidents.
Villagers had then alleged that prime accused Rahul used to bring 20 to 25 pouches of country-made liquor from liquor shop and mixed chemicals, including methanol, to increase quantity. He then repacked it in pouches and sold them from his grocery shop to make quick bucks.
Doctors at Lajpat Rai hospital, who had been handling such cases, said that though methanol can make people feel inebriated, but even a very small amount can be toxic. Methanol poisoning can cause confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, headache and inability to coordinate muscle movements. “It can induce nausea, vomiting and heart or respiratory failure,” they added.
SSP Anant Deo told TOI that in total 87 persons have been arrested till date in connection with the hooch deaths reported from Ghatampur, Maharajpur and Bidhnoo pockets of the district in March.
District excise official, Arvind Maurya, said, “The license of one liquor vend was cancelled, while three excise officials and whole police station, including inspector Ghatampur, were suspended.”
On being questioned about the status of magisterial probe, Maurya said, “It is still under way.”
In the wake of Barabanki tragedy, police and excise department officials launched a fresh crackdown on illegal bootleggers, keeping in mind the back-to-back incidents in which nine people died after drinking toxic liquor in Ghatampur, Maharajpur and Bidhnoo areas in March this year. “We are not taking any chances, and massive patrolling is under way, particularly in the Kachar areas of Ganga, infamous for illicit liquor brewing,” said Kanpur SSP Anant Deo.