September 22, 2003	Monday	Rajab 24, 1424

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LUCKNOW, Sept 21: Twenty officials in northern India were suspended as the death toll from a batch of tainted liquor rose to 16 on Sunday, officials said.

At least 16 people, including two women, have died after they consumed the home-brewed liquor on Friday, while four others were recovering in a hospital in Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh, said Akhand Pratap Singh, the state’s top bureaucrat.

Five people were arrested on Sunday for selling the brew and 20 district administration officials were suspended from duty for allowing its sale, Singh said.

The state government also offered to pay $1,050 to each victim family.—AFP