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Three individuals died in Meerut after consuming country liquor (Representative image)
MEERUT: Three people died under suspicious circumstances after consuming country liquor in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, with officials on Saturday saying preliminary investigations have not established whether the deaths were linked to the quality of alcohol. The three reportedly began vomiting and complained of abdominal pain after consuming the liquor on Friday evening. They were rushed to a hospital, where they were declared dead. Officials said a post-mortem examination will ascertain the exact cause of death. According to police, Baburam (60), a grocery shop owner, Jitendra (35), who worked at his shop, and Ankit alias Daulat (40), had purchased liquor from a government-authorised country liquor outlet and started drinking near the spot. Soon after consuming the liquor, their health deteriorated rapidly, with all three complaining of vomiting and severe abdominal discomfort. They were taken to a private hospital, where doctors declared Jitendra and Ankit dead, while Baburam succumbed during treatment. Senior officials, including Additional Director General of Police (Meerut Zone) Bhanu Bhaskar, District Magistrate VK Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police Avinash Pandey, and District Excise Officer Pradeep Kumar, reached the spot and initiated an inquiry.
SSP Avinash Pandey said preliminary investigations have not confirmed whether the liquor was “toxic or expired”. He added that the bottling date was February 11, 2026, and no complaints had been reported from other bottles of the same batch. He further said a post-mortem will determine the exact cause of death. Teams from the health, forensic, surveillance and intelligence departments have been deployed to probe the incident. Following the deaths, family members staged a protest at the hospital. Police said further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.



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