78 people died after consuming spurious liquor in UP in 2019

The Uttar Pradesh government said on Wednesday that a total of 78 lives were lost due to consumption of spurious liquor in the state in 2019.

In reply to a question in the Legislative Assembly, Excise Minister Jai Pratap Singh said while eight lives were lost in Kusinagar, 36 died in Saharanpur, 10 in Kanpur and 24 in Barabanki in 2019.

In 2017, 26 people died in Azamgarh and in 2018, a total of 23 lives were lost to spurious liquor -- four each in Barabanki, Kanpur Dehat and Ghaziabad, five each in Kanpur and Shamli, and one in Bijnore.

The minister said laws have been made more stringent, fines have been increased manifold and the provision of life term and death sentence has also been made for those found guilty in dealing with spurious liquor.

 

At the departmental level, those found involved are suspended. After every incident, action was initiated against the officials and in all the cases, charge sheet have been filed.

While answering to the question raised by Aditi Singh (Congress), Ujjwal Raman Singh, Sanjay Garg (both SP) and others, the minister said from 2018 to April this year, there were 40,458 cases of recovery of illegal and adulterated liquor and cases have been registered against 15,383 people found involved in these.