At least 37 people have died after consuming spurious alcohol in various villages of Ahmedabad, Surendranagar and Botad in Gujarat since Monday. Around 11 people are still undergoing treatment at various government hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad, Barvala and Dhandhuka, officials said.
Gujarat Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia earlier said the police have detained three persons from Botad district who were allegedly involved in manufacturing and selling spurious country-made liquor.
The matter came to light early Monday morning when some people living in Rojid village of Barvala taluka and other surrounding villages were referred to government hospitals in Barvala and Botad towns after their condition started deteriorating.
A release from the Gujarat government Tuesday said the deaths were caused by “chemical poisoning” adding that an analysis of the substance consumed by the victims by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) Gandhinagar has revealed the presence of 98.71 per cent to 98.99 per cent methyl alcohol.
In the wake of the Gujarat hooch incident, we look at a few incidents of hooch tragedies in recent times:
1. Bihar
Bihar has seen many deaths due to hooch tragedies over the years, the latest being Holi this year. According to reports, nearly 37 people died after consuming spurious liquor in three districts of Bihar around the time of Holi. While the maximum number of deaths took place in Bhagalpur district, more people lost their lives in Banka district in Madhepura.
In January, early this year, six persons died in the Nalanda district of Bihar in what was suspected to be a hooch tragedy in the dry state, where the sale and consumption of liquor are banned.
Back in November 2021, at least 30 people died in three days in Bihar after allegedly consuming spurious alcohol. Samastipur Superintendent of Police Manavjeet Singh Dhillon said all four deceased, including an Army jawan and a BSF personnel, were residents of villages falling under the Rupauli panchayat in the Patori police station area.
Following a sharp rise in Bihar's hooch tragedy, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar banned the sale and consumption of liquor in the state in April 2016. The Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act was passed in 2016 “to enforce, implement and promote complete prohibition of liquor and intoxicants in the territory of the state of Bihar.”
2. Uttar Pradesh
At least five people died in Uttar Pradesh's Mahul town, Azamgarh district after consuming spurious liquor under a licensed country liquor shop.
According to a report by the Times of India, 22 persons had lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor within the borders of Azamgarh and Ambedkarnagar districts of the state in May 2021. Prior to that, around 20 lives were lost in the Raunapur area in July 2017 and 40 people died in the Mubarakpur area in October 2013. Over 80 deaths have been reported in the district due to hooch trgaedies in the past decade.
3. West Bengal
On July 20, six people died and several fell ill after consuming country alcohol from a hooch den in West Bengal's Howrah district. The condition of many was reported as 'critical'.
"Most of those who had fallen ill were hospitalised and six of them died this morning. We are waiting for the post-mortem examination report to ensure the cause of the death. We have arrested the owner of the shop and sent alcohol samples from there for chemical examination," a police officer said.
4. 2008 Karnataka-Tamil Nadu alcohol poisonings
The 2008 Karnataka-Tamil Nadu alcohol poisoning is considered the worst methanol poisoning in the country since the 2000s. The incident had claimed at least 180 lives.
On May 18, 2008 people from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had consumed moonshine (illicit liquor) made with camphor and tobacco. The drink contained toxic methyl alcohol. 156 initially died and later the death toll increased to 180 as other hospitalised victims, who complained of stomach ache, also succumbed to the infection.
5. Other states and data
A recent report published by Business Standard cites data released by the Lok Sabha on July 19, 2022, listing the top face states that have reported maximum deaths due to hooch tragedies between 2016 and 2020 --- Bihar (reported more than 21 deaths), Chhattisgarh (reported 505 deaths), Madhya Pradesh (recorded over 1,200 deaths with the maximum number of deaths reported in 2018), Karnataka (logged a total of 909 deaths) and Punjab (reported 725 deaths).
Further, the report states that India reported over 6,000 deaths in 5 years between 2016 and 2020 due to the consumption of spurious liquor.
