india

Updated: May 30, 2019 12:41 IST

At least two people have died and four taken ill from drinking spurious liquor in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, officials said on Thursday, days after 18 deaths were reported from the adjoining Barabanki district earlier this week.

The deaths come after 18 people died from drinking toxic alcohol in Barabanki as an excise inspector and two other accused, including the owner of the shop where liquor was sourced from, were arrested on Wednesday. Six people have been arrested so far in connection with the incident.

Officials feared the death toll in Barabanki was likely to go up as many of 56 others, who had also taken ill after consuming spurious liquor, were in a condition critical at hospitals in Lucknow and Barabanki.

Sitapur’s superintendent of police (SP) LR Kumar said those who have died and taken ill consumed the country-made liquor purchased from the illicit liquor manufacturer Kanhaiya Kumar.

The senior police official said Kanhaiya Kumar and one of his aides have been arrested for causing deaths and risking human lives by causing adulteration.

He said four people who were taken ill after consuming liquor have been rushed to King George Medical University’s trauma centre in Lucknow.

Inspector of Mahmoodabad police station Gopal Narain Singh said the two men who died have been identified as Vinod Kumar of Faizanpur village and Sumeri of Bijaura village. Their bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination.

The inspector said an alert has been sounded in the area to prevent any further deaths and that villagers are being made aware of the dangers of spurious liquor.