Azamgarh (UP), Dec 11 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh police has booked Samajwadi Party MLA Ramakant Yadav and three others under the Gangsters Act in connection with the 2022 hooch tragedy in Azamgarh that had claimed several lives, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The MLA, who is already in jail, and others have been linked to the Rangesh Yadav gang, which was earlier implicated in producing and selling adulterated liquor, according to officials.

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"In 2022, spurious liquor sold at a government outlet in Ahraula led to multiple deaths. Cases were registered in the Ahraula and Phulpur police stations.

"Initially, 12 accused, including gang leader Rangesh Yadav, were booked under the Gangsters Act. After further investigation, Ramakant Yadav and three others have been added as gang members in this case," Superintendent of Police (Azamgarh Rural) Chirag Jain said.

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According to police, besides Yadav, who is the MLA from Phulpur Pawai constituency, Naseem alias Naseem Neta of Rupipur village in Ahraula, Ravi Kumar Kshatri alias Rajkumar from Varanasi, and Joyanta Kumar Mitra from North 24 Parganas in West Bengal have been booked under the Gangsters Act.

The police said that the accused were involved in manufacturing adulterated liquor and selling it through licensed outlets.

"Legal action is being taken, and their properties will be identified and seized," Jain added.

The case traces back to February 2022, when six people died due to the consumption of adulterated liquor. Multiple FIRs were registered, leading to action against the gang, including the alleged kingpin Rangesh Yadav.

Deputy Inspector General (Azamgarh Range) Vaibhav Krishna said booking the accused under the stringent Gangsters Act clearly demonstrates that the police are committed to a zero-tolerance policy against any kind of mafia activities in the region.

"Strict and effective measures will be taken against offenders involved in the production of illegal liquor, liquor smuggling, cattle smuggling, land mafia activities, examination fraud, and brokerage in contracts," Krishna said.

"Criminals engaged in such activities will be identified and dealt with continuously, and properties acquired through criminal activities will also be identified and confiscated," the DIG added.

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