Gopalganj: A special court in Bihar on Friday sentenced nine people to death in a hooch tragedy case in Gopalganj. Nineteen people had died in Gopalganj on August 16, 2016, after consuming spurious liquor. Four women were also sentenced to life imprisonment by the ADJ II court.
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Another six people lost their eye-sights after consuming spurious liquor.
Police had filed cases against 14 people including the prime accused Nagina Passi and Rupesh Shukla.
One of the accused named in the case died during the four and a half-year-long trial.
It was the first when a court handed capital punishment to as many as nine convicts in a single case in Bihar.
The hooch tragedy had led to a massive outcry and many police personnel were placed under suspension in its wake, four months after the Nitish Kumar government banned the sale and consumption of alcohol across the state.
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A raid conducted in Khajurbani, a cluster of about 25-30 households, all involved in the illicit liquor trade, had led to the recovery of more than 500 litres of alcohol.
The then District Magistrate had ordered imposition of a "collective fine" on the locality in a bid to deter the residents from continuing with their earlier occupation.
Those facing the gallows following the court order are Chhathu Pasi, Kanhaiya Pasi, Nagina Pasi, Lalbabu Pasi, Rajesh Kumar, Sanoj Kumar, Sanjay Chaudhary, Ranjit Chaudhary and Munna Chaudhary.
The women co-accused getting lifer are Laljhari Devi, Kailasho Devi, Indu Devi and Rita Devi.
(With inputs from agency)
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