Nine killed, over 12 hospitalised after consuming spurious liquor in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar
PTC News Desk: At least nine people have been killed and several others hospitalised after consuming spurious liquor in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar. The victims were residents of different villages and reportedly fell ill after drinking alcohol on Saturday night.
According to preliminary information, people from Ghooghar, Naoraj, Baraj and nearby areas consumed liquor on Saturday night.
Their health reportedly worsened soon after, prompting their families to take them to hospital. While poisonous or spurious liquor is suspected to be a possible cause, authorities have not yet officially confirmed that alcohol poisoning caused the deaths.
The incident in Sagar comes amid similar cases reported in other parts of the country. Last month, 13 people died in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district after allegedly consuming spurious liquor, while more than a dozen others were hospitalised.
Four people suspected of selling illegal liquor were detained in connection with the Gujarat case. Authorities said the victims had consumed liquor from a popular Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brand.
Police later arrested 13 of the 21 accused and charged them with offences including culpable homicide and poisoning. The investigation found that the liquor contained 38.59% methanol.
Gujarat is a dry state, where the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol are banned, except in certain cases permitted under the law.
Post mortem to determine cause of death
Police said the exact cause of the deaths will be confirmed after post-mortem examinations.
Investigators are collecting information from the victims' families and local residents. Authorities are also expected to test the liquor consumed by the victims and trace where it came from.
The incident has raised concerns about the possible production and distribution of illegal or spurious liquor in the area. Police are investigating whether the deaths are connected and if an illegal liquor network was operating in the region.
Officials have not ruled out the possibility of more deaths as they continue to assess the situation and gather information.
- With inputs from agencies
