Ghaziabad: Excise dept begins inquiry into spurious liquor case

Four persons died in Khoda on Monday night and Tuesday morning and after allegedly consuming liquor brought from a grocery shop in the locality.

Senior officials of the district excise department have started an inquiry into the four deaths which allegedly resulted from the consumption of suspected spurious liquor in Khoda locality of Ghaziabad.

Locals held several protests in Khoda on Tuesday, demanding the immediate closure of illegal liquor shops in Ghaziabad. (Sakib Ali /Ht Photo)

Excise officials are still disputing the idea that the deaths were due to the consumption of spurious liquor.

Ravi Shanker Pathak, joint commissioner (excise), arrived in Ghaziabad on Wednesday and visited Khoda as part of the ongoing inquiry. A report will be sent to the state administration once the inquiry is complete.

Four persons died in Khoda on Monday night and Tuesday morning and after allegedly consuming liquor brought from a grocery shop in the locality.

“The initial report about the incident has been sent by the district administration. We will be conducting a detailed inquiry and a report will be sent to the state administration soon. We are still waiting for the forensic reports of the liquor samples,” Pathak said.

“The issue of spurious liquor is yet to be substantiated. We estimate that the number of deaths and those hospitalised would have been more in such a scenario. But we are waiting for forensic reports for further confirmation,” he said.

Meanwhile, the excise department has also identified 48 areas in the city and rural areas where liquor smuggling is rampant.

The areas include Ator, Nehru Nagar-3, Nasirpur, Bamheta, Razapur, Kalka Garhi, Bhovapur, Ristal, Chirodi, Daulatpura, Jhandapur and Rahul Vihar. Twenty-four areas were identified under Ghaziabad tehsil while eight and 12 were identified in Loni and Modi Nagar tehsils.

The police on Wednesday lodged three FIRs into the incident.

Police sources said the victims may have consumed locally manufactured and adulterated liquor, which led to their deaths. The sources said that liquor bottles are often refilled with this spurious mixture and sold to consumers in areas such as Khoda.

“We are probing all angles in the case. The viscera and postmortem reports will help in ascertaining the cause of death,” Dharmendra Chauhan, circle officer, Indirapuram, said.