UP: Key accused in 2021 Aligarh hooch tragedy sentenced to 10 years jail

Aligarh District Court on Tuesday sentenced a key accused in the 2021 hooch tragedy that claimed more than 100 lives, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. And imposed a fine of Rs 50,000. Additional District Judge Amit Kumar Tiwari convicted Pramod Gupta under sections 273 (sale of noxious food or drink), 471 (using forged document as genuine) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, for supplying the toxic chemical methanol to manufacturers of spurious liquor, which led to 106 deaths across several villages and towns of Aligarh district during May-June 2021.

The hooch tragedy, which struck while the state was reeling under the Covid-19 pandemic, disproportionately affected the poor and marginalised, according to locals and activists. Government counsel Kuldeep Kumar Tomar said a total of 31 FIRs were registered in the district in connection with the hooch-related deaths. He added that two other judgments had already been delivered in this regard in 2024, resulting in the sentencing of the key accused.

Reacting to the verdict, Madhvi Devi of Cherat village, who lost her husband Omveer Singh in the tragedy, said the sentence had been widely welcomed by villagers. She said at least 10 people from her village died after consuming spurious liquor in 2021. The hooch tragedy had triggered widespread outrage and led to a major crackdown on the illegal liquor network in the district, officials said. Several political and social activists in the district claimed that the actual death toll was higher than official figures.