Three dead after drinking country liquor in Meerut, police initiate probe

The three were rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared Jitendra and Ankit dead, while Baburam passed away during treatment.

Meerut: Three people died under suspicious circumstances after consuming country liquor in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Preliminary probe has not confirmed if they died due to the quality of alcohol, officials said on Saturday, April 4.

All three vomited and had abdominal pain after drinking the liquor on Friday evening and were rushed to a hospital where they were declared dead. A post-mortem will determine the exact cause of death, they said.

According to the police, Baburam (60), a grocery shop owner, Jitendra (35), who worked at his shop and Ankit alias Daulat (40), purchased liquor in the evening from a government-authorised country liquor outlet and began drinking at the spot.

Shortly after drinking the liquor, the health of all three deteriorated, and they began complaining of vomiting and abdominal pain.

The three were rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared Jitendra and Ankit dead, while Baburam passed away during treatment.

Additional Director General (ADG) of Police for the Meerut Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar, District Magistrate VK Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Avinash Pandey, and District Excise Officer Pradeep Kumar reached the spot and initiated an investigation.

SSP Avinash Pandey said that preliminary investigations have not confirmed whether the liquor was “toxic or expired”. The bottling date was found to be February 11, 2026, and other bottles from the same batch received no such complaints.

He added that a post-mortem will determine the exact cause of death. Personnel from the Health, Forensic, Surveillance, and Intelligence teams have been constituted to investigate the matter.

Following the incident, the family members created a ruckus at the hospital. Police said further action would be taken based on the findings of the investigation.