District magistrate, Neena Sharma said prima facie the case appeared to be related to the consumption of rectified spirit.
Officials on condition of anonymity said at many local shops, rectified spirit mixed with water was being sold unchecked and at cheap rates.
While moonshine has 42% of alcohol, the rectified spirit has intensity varying between 90-95%.
"This is a killer concoction," an official said.
A dozen people had died in Azamgarh in 2008 in a similar hooch tragedy while six people had died in Soyepur village in Varanasi in 2010.
