UP: 5 dead after consuming illicit liquor

Five persons have died and three are seriously ill after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh.

According to District Magistrate of Shamli, Indra Vikram Kumar, one person died on Monday, two on Tuesday and two more on Wednesday.

The bodies of two victims of this alleged hooch tragedy have been sent for post-mortem. Also the three people who fell ill have been admitted in different hospitals for treatment and are said to be in serious condition.

"In total, five people have died. Initially (yesterday), when we reached at the spot, the villagers lied and claimed that one of victims died due to illness and the other passed away following a heart attack. It was only today when two more people died, the villagers divulged that the deaths have been caused after consumption of illicit liquor," Kumar told ANI.

"Two bodies have been sent for post-mortem. Prima facie it appears that the consumption of alcohol is the main reason for the deaths. But, only after the post-mortem, we can be sure about the cause of death," he added.

Kumar further said one of the victims, 55-year-old Joga Singh, was the supplier of the spurious liquor and he too had consumed it along with other villagers.

Meanwhile, five policemen have been suspended for negligence of duty.