Aligarh hooch tragedy accused 'dies' in jail, judicial probe ordered

ALIGARH: Wife of the main accused in the infamous Aligarh hooch tragedy, Renu Sharma, 48, a former block pramukh, died at JN Medical College in the city late on Friday.
Sharma, who was suffering from several ailments, including cardiac and respiratory disorders, was also an accused in the case, as the vends from where the hooch was sold were "in her name".
The kin of the undertrial woman staged a protest and accused the administration for “murdering” her, as she was discharged from Medical College on December 2, despite being unwell. She had been admitted there since November 9, said her son Vinay Bhardwaj.
“I got a call from a lady constable at 11.44pm that my mother’s condition was not good and they were taking her to JN Medical College. When I reached there, doctors told me that she was dead,” said Bhardwaj. He told media persons that her release on bail was confirmed on Friday but the police refused to certify one guarantor, as some case was pending against him. “We had managed the second guarantor, but the process of her final release was delayed to Saturday and she died even before coming out,” he said.
Protestors demanded a CBI inquiry into the circumstances of her death and immediate release of all her family members, including her husband and the alleged kingpin of the liquor mafia, Rishi Sharma, for performing final rites. They also demanded that her post-mortem should be conducted before them, else they would continue with their protest. Local residents raised slogans against the state government.
Jailer Pramod Kumar Singh said that they could not save her despite trying their best. “The arrangements were made to take her to medical college after her condition started deteriorating but she could not survive,” he said, adding that her release order was not received in the jail so far. The application of the kin to allow their jailed family members to perform last rites, was rejected by the local court, he added.
A judicial inquiry will be conducted into the matter, which is mandatory under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The hooch tragedy had claimed over 100 lives in the district in May and June this year. Police said she had been lodged in Aligarh district jail on May 29since her arrest and was granted bail by the high court on November 18 due to her poor health condition. She was charged under various IPC sections, including 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 272 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale), 273 (sale of noxious food or drink), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) at Jawan police station.
Her husband Rishi Sharma was the alleged kingpin of the illicit liquor mafia, and he was arrested near Bulandshahr border after nine days of chase.
Uttar Pradesh Police had announced Rs 1 lakh on any information leading to the arrest of Sharma, who went missing on May 28when villagers started dying allegedly after consuming toxic liquor brewed and illegally sold by his gang to authorised vends.