india

Updated: May 28, 2019 11:47 IST

At least ten people, including four of a family, died after drinking spurious liquor in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district late on Monday night, locals and police said, following the death of 66 in a similar incident in the state.

The district administration has, however, confirmed the deaths of only five people, including four members of the same family in Raniganj village. Locals claimed five others have died in Amrai, Tatehra and Akohara villages of the district as well.

Villagers also said the victims drank country-made liquor from an authorised shop of the excise department.

Several people have been admitted in the Barabanki district hospital after their condition deteriorated.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed his deepest condolences on the deaths in Barabanki and directed the district magistrate and superintendent of police to immediately rush to the spot and provide medical attention to all affected.

Adityanath has asked authorities take severe action against those involved in manufacturing and sale of spurious liquor. He also directed the principal secretary (excise) to investigate the incident immediately and take severe action.

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More than 100 people had died in the hooch tragedy that hit Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh in February this year. Police arrested more than 215 people and filed cases against 297, seizing thousands of litres hooch in the two states.

The sale and consumption of spurious liquor are rampant in rural districts across the country, as illegal brewers run fly-by-night operations to evade hefty levies and taxes. The harm comes from methanol content, which can increase in liquor that is not brewed properly. Methanol is also added in trace amounts to increase the potency of liquor.