Aligarh (UP): Eleven people died Friday and some more were taken ill after allegedly consuming spurious liquor. The liquor was sold by a licensed vendor here, District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh said. A time-bound magisterial inquiry has been ordered which will be conducted by an additional district magistrate-rank officer, Singh told media persons. The administration is likely to invoke the NSA against those found guilty in the inquiry, he asserted.
Earlier in the day, DIG Dipak Kumar said that the Lodha police station was informed Friday morning about the death of two people. Both had consumed the country-made liquor bought from a vendor in Karsia. The victims were truck drivers who had gathered at a gas depot on the Aligarh-Tapaal highway for work, Kumar informed.
However, when police and senior district officials reached the spot, they were informed that six more people belonging to Karsia and adjoining villages had died, the DIG said. He added that police teams were rushed to the area and the bodies sent for post-mortem examination.
The DM said information about other people who had consumed liquor bought from the same vendor is trickling in.
Speaking to this agency, Deputy Commissioner, Excise, D Sharma said some of those taken ill were rushed to the district hospital and from there, shifted to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital, AMU, later. He said the liquor vend has been sealed and samples have been collected for testing.
According to locals, people had started falling sick from Thursday. Many others from neighbouring villages had also consumed the liquor, they added. So more are expected to fall ill, they pointed out.