Aligarh (UP), Jun 4 (PTI) In a major shake-up in the district police following two recent hooch tragedies, more than 540 policemen posted for over two years at the same police station have been transferred, a senior officer said on Friday.

Five police inspectors, including two station house officers, and a circle officer have been suspended in the past four days for suspected links with the liquor mafia, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani said.

Of the 548 policemen who were transferred, 148 have been shunted out of the district, the SSP said.

The first hooch tragedy hit the district on May 28. Thirty-five people are confirmed to have died of liquor poisoning. The toll could be higher as reports of viscera examination on 52 more suspected victims are still awaited.

In the second incident, nine people lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor found dumped in a canal near Rohera village in Jawan area of the district.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)