Moonshine kills nine in Bulandshahr

LUCKNOW - Illicit liquor claimed nine lives in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district Wednesday, police said. Seven victims are in hospital.

While six people had died in the morning, three died in the afternoon at the Bulandshahr district hospital.

“Most of those who died after consuming the illicit liquor are from Bulandshahr’s Meerpur village and its adjoining areas,” district police chief Neelesh Kumar told reporters in Bulandshahr, some 400 km from Lucknow.

According to police, seven people who fell ill after consuming the liquor are still in hospital.

Kumar said it appears that the shop staff mixed methyl alcohol, a potent industrial alcohol, in the liquor, turning it poisonous. “We have sealed the shop and detained some of its staff to probe the mishap,” said Kumar.

Last month, at least 16 people lost their lives in different villages of Varanasi district after drinking spurious liquor.