The death toll in the Etah hooch tragedy climbed to 23 on Sunday even as the Akhilesh Yadav government came under criticism of the Opposition parties who demanded action against the culprits.
Till Saturday night, 14 deaths were reported dead in the incident. On Sunday, seven more deaths were reported from Etah while in a related incident, two persons died in Farukhabad district after allegedly consuming spurious liquor, a police spokesperson said.
The two deceased, identified as Sobran, 55, and Suresh, 40, residents of Gram Chilora of Kayamganj area of Farukkhabad, had consumed spurious liquor at Luhari Darwaza area of Aliganj in Etah, the centre point of the incident.
While around half-a-dozen persons still receive treatment, some have also lost their eyesight. District Magistrate Ajay Yadav said that an ex-gratia amount of Rs. 2 lakh each would be given to the families of the deceased and that the State would bear the full cost of treatment of those who lost their eyesight.
The police late on Saturday night nabbed main accused Shripal Lodh from the Nayagaon area of the district.
After Mathura and Kairana, the BJP has picked the hooch tragedy in Etah to target the Samajwadi Party government and formed a seven-member team of senior officer-bearers who will visit the spot on Monday to probe the circumstances that led to the tragedy.
