11 deaths in Barabanki, 3 die after consuming spirit

Three people died after allegedly consuming spirit in Dewa area of the district, police said on Thursday. A total of 11 people have died in the district in the past 24 hours because of different reasons, SP Anil Kumar Singh told PTI over phone.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed profound grief over the deaths and extended an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the relatives of each of the deceased.

Adityanath has asked officials to ensure proper treatment of those taken ill and has ordered an inquiry by a joint team of excise and home department officials, according to an official statement released here.

District Magistrate Akhilesh Tewari said the spirit was purchased from a shop near the Dewa Mazar yesterday and consumed by some people of whom three died.

Three others were taken ill and were undergoing treatment at different hospitals, Tewari said.

Refuting reports about 11 hooch deaths in the district, the DM said besides these three people, one person died due to heart attack, two people died after they were taken ill due to cold and five others died due to different diseases.

The deceased were identified as Avnish (40), Kanshi Ram (45) and Ram Suresh (35), Singh said, adding that their families said that they were taken ill after consuming spirit and were rushed to the hospital where they later died.

They had purchased the spirit from a licenced shop whose owner was taken into custody for questioning and the spirit was sent for examination, Singh said, adding that the bodies were also sent for post-mortem to ascertain the actual cause of the deaths.

The district magistrate has also constituted a team to look into the matter, the SP added.