The two arrested are natives of Dhaulpur district of Rajasthan. (Representational)

Two men were arrested after over 7,000 bottles of smuggled liquor were seized from a truck in the Masuri area along Eastern Peripheral Expressway, the police said on Saturday.

Jitendra and Raju, both natives of Dhaulpur district of Rajasthan, told the police that the consignment of 655 cartons containing 7,860 bottles, procured from Karnal in Haryana, was to be delivered in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, senior police official Upendra Agarwal said.

At least 72 people died due to the consumption of spurious liquor in two adjoining districts in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

UP chief secretary on Saturday directed the excise and police departments to conduct raids to check the manufacturing of hooch and stop smuggling of liquor in the state.

Mr Agarwal said raw material used for making hooch was destroyed following raids by the police and excise teams in the Loni area on Saturday.