Aligarh, Jan 19 (PTI) Nearly four years after the hooch tragedy that killed over 100, victims’ kin say an inadequate compensation and bailing of several accused has meant that full justice is not done to them.
More than a hundred people died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Aligarh district in 2021.
The renewed focus on the tragedy comes days after a local court in Aligarh, on January 17, convicted a liquor smuggler for his role in the 2021 hooch incident that claimed 106 lives across villages in Uttar Pradesh.
The court held him guilty of supplying methanol-laced alcohol that proved fatal, while the quantum of punishment is scheduled to be announced on Tuesday.
The hooch tragedy, which struck in the summer of 2021 while the state was reeling under the Covid-19 pandemic, disproportionately affected the poor and marginalised, according to locals and activists tracking the aftermath.
Ritessh Kumar, the pradhan of Karsua village that lost at least 10 residents, told PTI that tracing affected families revealed the depth of their social and emotional distress.
“Most surviving family members are so downtrodden and emotionally crushed that they are hardly in a position to articulate their trauma and are merely struggling to survive,” he said.
Many families were unable to pursue legal proceedings on their own and had to authorise other relatives to submit petitions in court on their behalf, he said.
Kumar helped PTI identify several affected families, including that of Kapil, 35, whose 60-year-old father, Jaipal, and 40-year-old cousin, Sunil, died of the spurious liquor.
Kapil said both families received an ex gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh each, but they said it was grossly insufficient. “This amount is hardly enough to sustain families who are not even in a position to earn a living,” he said.
He alleged that the tragedy was the result of a nexus between the liquor mafia, businessmen who knowingly supplied toxic chemicals, and corrupt government officials.
“Unless all three are made to bear the financial burden of supporting the survivors, justice will not be complete merely by sending a few people to jail,” he said.
Several political and social activists in the district claimed that the actual death toll was higher than official figures. Dozens of people, including alleged liquor mafia kingpins, were arrested after the incident.
Family members acknowledged that arrests were made swiftly, crediting the then senior superintendent of police, Kalanidhi Naithani, for acting firmly despite alleged political pressure.
“It was reassuring that no member of the liquor mafia escaped arrest at that time,” a relative said.
Cherat village, around 20 km from the district headquarters, lost about 10 people in the tragedy.
Tejveer Chauhan, a lawyer and social activist who assisted the victims’ families, said several liquor contractors who were jailed then are now out on bail.
“This is unfair. The compensation of Rs 5 lakh is grossly inadequate for families that lost their sole breadwinners,” he said.
Santosh Chauhan, who lost his brother Manoj, said accountability must extend beyond the liquor mafia. “This tragedy could not have occurred without the connivance of officials. Unless those who enabled this network are also punished, justice will remain incomplete,” he said.
Families and activists continue to demand enhanced compensation and strict action against all those allegedly involved, saying the court conviction, while significant, has reopened old wounds rather than brought closure. PTI COR KIS VN VN
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