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Barabanki hooch deaths: Key accused reveal alleged nexus involving excise officials
An official said the police have also found several items used in manufacturing of spurious liquor from another shop in Raniganj which was taken on rent by the key accused Daanveer Singh.
The arrest of the two key accused on Wednesday has exposed an alleged nexus of excise officials and spurious liquor sellers, mainly in rural areas of Barabanki, said an official privy to the investigation.
The official further said that key accused Daanveer Singh’s rigorous interrogation not only led to the arrest of excise inspector Ram Tirath Maurya but also revealed the names of at least seven more excise officials and personnel whose involvement is suspected in allowing a free hand for sale of spurious liquor from authorised shops. He said the police are verifying their involvement and more arrests are likely.
He said the list of excise officials included a controversial excise inspector whose role came under the scanner during an earlier hooch tragedy reported from Barabanki’s Dewa road that led to the death of 14 people in January 2018. Moreover, the same inspector was posted in Lucknow when spurious liquor claimed the lives of 38 persons in Lucknow’s Qaiserbagh locality in September 2003.
The official said that the inspector was allegedly providing patronage to Daanveer Singh and helped him get a licence of the country-made liquor shop in Barabanki’s Raniganj market.
He said the police have also found several items used in manufacturing of spurious liquor from another shop in Raniganj which was taken on rent by Daanveer Singh.
He said the spurious liquor was manufactured with mixtures of country-made liquor and other chemicals before selling it from an authorised shop after packaging it in the bottles of branded country-made liquor brands.
