The incident happened in Uttar Pradesh’s industrial town of Kanpur, around 90 km from here.

All the children were below ten. Some were only two, police sources said. Some of the children, who became unconscious after consuming liquor, were admitted to hospital. The condition of three-year-old Ayush is critical .

The man identified as Waseem Ahmed was having liquor on Sunday evening outside his home at Babupurwa  in Kanpur when he was surrounded by his five children and some others in the neighbourhood.

Waseem told the children that he was drinking “sharbat” (juice) and that they (children) could also have it. While Waseem’s children became unconscious after consuming liquor, the others began to stagger and could not speak properly. Some of them even puked.
Panic prevailed in the area when people saw their children in such a condition. He was thrashed by angry locals and later handed over to the police. “I just wanted to see the effect of liquor on the children,” he told the police. His neighbours said that he was in the habit of giving liquor to his children. In past, too, he had made his children consume liquor.