[EN.ALGHADEER.TV] More than 60 people have died after drinking toxic bootleg alcohol in the Indian state of Punjab, officials and reports said.The victims died in three districts of the northern state and police have arrested 10 people, the officials said.Hundreds of people die every year in India from poisoned alcohol made in backstreet distilleries which sells for as little as 10 rupees (13 US cents) a litre.
An official told AFP that 11 people had died in Gurdaspur district. Press Trust of India news agency and other media said Saturday the illicit booze had claimed 53 lives in neighbouring Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts.
Other deaths were suspected in recent days but could not be proved as the bodies had been cremated without a post-mortem examination.
"Somebody strucka match.."
Punjab state chief minister Amarinder Singh said Friday he had ordered a special inquiry into the deaths and "anyone found guilty will not be spared".
The Indian Express newspaper said one of the suspects had died in Amritsar district after consuming the illegal liquor and that his wife had been arrested for selling the alcohol.
The case came after authorities in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh said on Friday that nine people had died after drinking alcohol-based sanitiser.
The victims drank the sanitiser as a substitute for alcohol which has been restricted during a coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...lockdown in India.
| Update from the Hindustan Times at 1:15 a.m. EDT: |
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
hooch tragedy rose to 84 as 43 more people died on Saturday, officials familiar with the matter said.
A majority of the deaths, 62, were reported from Tarn Taran district, with Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts registering 11 deaths each. The police have arrested 25 people, including one of the key accused-- Darshan Rani, alias Faujan, in connection with the deaths across the three districts, officials said.
The police have seized large quantities of ’lahan’ (raw material used for making liquor) from various villages and ’dhabas’ in the region around the Shambhu border, Rajpura and Patiala, Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta said. The raids have exposed a massive liquor racket, extending across several districts, he said, adding that several dhabas at Shambhu, Banur and Rajpura of Patiala have been sealed.
An excise department official said on condition of anonymity that though reports of the chemical analysis of the material seized in police raids were yet to arrive, a preliminary check showed that the material was denatured spirit, generally used in the paint or hardware industry.
News agency PTI reported that chief minister Amarinder Singh has ordered the suspension of seven excise officials, along with six coppers over negligence of duty. Among the suspended officials are two deputy superintendents of police and four station house officers, the news agency said. The CM also announced Rs 2 lakh ex gratia for each of the families of the dear departed.