The Sewri Sessions Court yesterday convicted 19 people in the eight-year-old hooch tragedy in Vikhroli, which had killed 87 people after they consumed illicit liquor in December 2004. The court also observed that the state’s excise officers ought to have been accused in the case for showing leniency towards the accused.

While Dayaram Mhatre, Pandit Kalan, Pradeep D’mello and Vishnu Mhatre were sentenced to life, another 15 of the accused were sentenced to two years of imprisonment. Session Judge W K Kandankar observed in his judgment that around 57 officials, including IPS officials and officers from the state excise department, ought to have been made accused in the case for showing leniency towards the accused.