Kushinagar hooch tragedy: One more held

One more person was held in connection with Kushinagar hooch tragedy on Sunday, informed state excise and prohibition minister Jai Pratap Singh .

Eight people died after consuming illicit liquor in Kushinagar.

Giving details about the incident that took place in Kushinagar Singh told ANI, "In Kushinagar villagers have identified a person named Rajinder Jaiswal who was involved in illicit liquor business and he has been arrested. Officers of Kushinagar who were negligent towards their duty were suspended."

"Reason behind incidents in Saharanpur and Kushinagar are different. People from Saharanpur went to Uttarakhand for a function where they consumed poisonous liquor. As they returned death toll rose. Both the incidents are unfortunate and painful," he added.

The minister also alleged that in 2017 when he took charge of this ministry a similar incident occurred in Azamgarh and the people who were responsible for this incident were associated with the Samajwadi Party.

"In 2017 when I took charge of this department an incident like this had happened in Azamgarh. The people who were held for that incident were associated to the Samajwadi Party and something similar happened in 2013 and in that too those who were held were members of the Akhilesh Yadav led party," he added.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of those who died after consuming spurious liquor and Rs 50,000 each to those who are undergoing treatment.

Congress Eastern Uttar Pradesh General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too expressed grief over the death of more than 100 people in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh due to illicit liquor consumption and demanded an appropriate compensation and provision of government jobs for kin of the deceased.

Consumption of spurious illegal liquor has claimed the lives of 70 people in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, forcing government officials to launch a major crackdown to nab those responsible for distribution of illicit liquor in the states and its neighbouring regions. While 13 people lost their lives in Uttarakhand, the death toll in Uttar Pradesh mounted to 56.