Toll in Kanpur hooch tragedy climbs to 12, police arrests 11

With seven more deaths on Sunday, the toll in the hooch tragedy in Kanpur and Kanpur Dehat has now gone up to 12 people with a dozen more still battling for their lives in different hospitals across the city. Meanwhile, even as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of victims — one of them a retired constable — the police has made 11 arrests. One of the arrested, Vinay Singh is the grandson of former Samajwadi Party MLA RS Singh Gaur. Shop owner Satish Mishra is on the run.

After five deaths were reported Kanpur city on Saturday, seven people died in the rural village on Sunday after consuming the spurious liquor. The police have seized the shop and found that hundreds of pouches and quarters of the country-made liquor were set on fire by the owner and the salesman before escaping.

Along with the ex-gratia, Adityanath has directed the district administration to arrest those behind the sale of illicit liquor and ordered for the suspension of the excise officials.

However, the police is still baffled as to how spurious liquor was being sold from licensed shops in Kanpur City and Dehat. SSP Kanpur city Akhilesh Kumar said, "A case has been registered and the arrested persons have admitted that they had manufactured duplicate country made liquor locally to pocket more profit.