The death toll from poisoning linked to toxic liquor in India's northern state of Punjab rose to 105 on Monday, as police carried out a crackdown on the illicit alcohol trade in the state following the worst bootleg alcohol incident this year.
The toll soared from 21 on Friday after families reported deaths to administration officials over the Saturday to Sunday weekend. The first deaths were reported last Wednesday, and the number has continued to rise as poor farmers and workers fell ill after drinking the alcohol across three districts.
Eighty people died in the Tarn Taran district over the past five days, senior official Kulwant Singh told DPA news agency, while state police confirmed 25 deaths in nearby Amritsar and Batala.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh earlier said he had ordered a special inquiry into the deaths and "anyone found guilty will not be spared".
Officials suspended
The state government has suspended seven excise officials and six police officials even as opposition parties accused governing party leaders of "patronising [the] spurious liquor trade."
In a crackdown, police conducted dozens of raids across villages - in which 30 bootleggers were arrested - and smashed illegal distilleries, seizing thousands of litres of tainted liquor.
“We have conducted raids at more than 30 places today and we have detained six more persons,” Dhruman H. Nimbale, a senior police officer in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, told Reuters.
Nimbale said the first five deaths occurred on Wednesday but police were only alerted on Friday, and then launched an investigation to determine whether the fatalities were linked.
Punjab police have so far arrested at least 25 people and conducted more than 100 raids across three districts, seizing hundreds of litres of liquor from villages and roadside eateries, the state's police chief Dinkar Gupta said on Saturday.A state government statement said six police officers and seven Excise Department officials have been arrested and suspended for failure to prevent the sale of tainted liquor as a magistrate began a probe into the deaths reported from three state districts of Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Batala.
A government official said some of the seized liquid was denatured spirit, which is typically used in the paint and hardware industry.
Deaths from illegally produced alcohol, known locally as “hooch” or “country liquor”, are a regular occurrence in India, where many cannot afford branded spirits.Police Officer Roshan Lal said 86 deaths have been confirmed, though local media reports put the number at 100.
The police chief for Punjab state, Dinkar Gupta, said the first five deaths were reported on Wednesday night in two villages in Amritsar district and remaining on Thursday and Friday
Recent coronavirus-related lockdowns have also made it difficult for consumers to enjoy a regular tipple. On Friday, 10 men died in a southern Indian states after consuming hand sanitiser derived from alcohol, as local liquor shops were closed, police said.
