Bootleggers may face death penalty in Uttar Pradesh

Those dealing in illicit or spurious liquor in Uttar Pradesh may face the gallows as a stringent bill providing for death penalty and life imprisonment to such offenders, passed by the state legislature recently, got the governor's nod.

Uttar Pradesh now becomes the third state after Delhi and Gujarat to have an act under which bootleggers may be sent to the gallows if consumption of spurious liquor leads to loss of life.

The UP Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2017, has the provisions of death penalty, life sentence and a fine to the tune of Rs 10 lakh and not less than Rs 5 lakh in case of death due to consumption of spurious liquor.

It also provides for rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years and not less than six years in case of disability caused by consumption of spurious liquor and fine to the tune of Rs 5 lakh and not less than Rs 3 lakh.

Hooch tragedies take a heavy toll every year in Uttar Pradesh. In July, 17 people died in Azamgarh after they consumed spurious liquor. In 2015, 28 people were killed in a similar incident in Malihabad area of Lucknow.