NEW DELHI, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- A court in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal has sentenced four people to life in jail for their role in an illicit liquor tragedy that claimed as many as 172 lives in 2011.
The court in the South 24 Parganas district pronounced the quantum of sentence Friday, a day after convicting the four in the case. However, the court set free six other accused in the case for want of evidence.
"All the four now have the right to move a higher court," a lawyer said Saturday.
Some 172 people died and several others were rendered blind after consuming toxic alcohol at Sangrampur in South 24 Parganas district in December 2011.
Illegal alcohol costs very little and the majority of the consumers are poor daily-wage workers. But deaths from illicit alcohol are not uncommon in India, as these often become toxic due to use of sub-standard items for its preparation.
