âA 15-yr-old cartel, 100% profits & a toxic batchâ â how the Aligarh hooch tragedy unfolded
Aligarh police have so far registered 17 FIRs, arrested 61 people, and seized more than 7,000 litres of liquor as part of their probe into 106 suspected hooch deaths.
Shubhangi Misra 13 June, 2021 11:05 am IST
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Aligarh: The men suspected to be behind the Aligarh hooch tragedy allegedly got into the alcohol crime business 15 years ago. They started out smuggling liquor from Haryana, much cheaper than in Uttar Pradesh, into many districts, including Aligarh, police sources told ThePrint.Â
But last year, a change in plans was allegedly forced when, in February, Haryana increased its excise duty on country liquor by 22 per cent. A Covid cess of Rs 5 per quarter followed, and this rendered the âcartelâsâ business model less profitable, sources in Aligarh police said.