Eight people dead, five hospitalised after consuming spurious liquor in Aligarh

Eight people died on Friday and five more are hospitalised after allegedly consuming spurious liquor sold by a licensed vendor, police said here.

The Lodha police station was informed in the morning about the death of two people after consumption of countrymade liquor bought from a vendor in Karsia, DIG Dipak Kumar told news persons.

The victims were truck drivers who had gathered at a gas depot on the Aligarh-Tapaal highway for work, he said.

However, when police and senior district officials reached the spot, they were informed that six more had died in Karsia and adjoining villages, the DIG said, adding that police teams were rushed to the area and the bodies sent for post-mortem examination.

Speaking to PTI, Deputy Commissioner, Excise, D Sharma said five villagers had to be rushed to the district hospital and from there, shifted to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital, AMU, as their condition deteriorated.

He said the liquor vend has been sealed and samples have been collected for testing.

According to locals, people started falling sick from Thursday. Many others from neighbouring villages had also consumed the liquor, they added.