According to the authorities, drinking alcohol that was illegally brewed in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has resulted in at least 34 deaths and dozens more hospital admissions.
On Thursday, a spokesman for the state government verified the fatalities brought on by drinking methanol-tainted alcohol. The chief minister of the state, MK Stalin, wrote on social media platform X, “Such crimes that ruin the society will be suppressed with an iron fist.”
“In India, at least 34 people pass away after consuming illicit alcohol.”
More than 100 patients with vomiting, stomachaches, and diarrhoea were admitted to hospitals in the Kallakurichi district after the incident, which prompted a police investigation.
The number of patients in critical condition fluctuated, according to district official MS Prasanth, raising the possibility that the death toll could go up.
A statement from the state government verified that at least ten officials, including the district’s police chief and collector, had been suspended.
200 litres (7,039 fluid ounces) of the alcoholic beverage mixed with methanol were found and one person was arrested by police for selling illegal alcohol, according to the government. To manage the situation, medical professionals, specialists, and ambulances from surrounding areas were sent to the district.
In India, deaths from hooch—illegally brewed alcohol—occur frequently because the impoverished cannot afford to buy licenced brands from stores owned by the government. The illegal alcohol, used to make paint thinners and fuel, is frequently laced with substances like methanol to make it more potent.
In 2022, drinking tainted spirits sold without permission caused at least 28 deaths in the western state of Gujarat and over 30 deaths in the eastern state of Bihar. And in the northern Indian state of Punjab in 2020, drinking tainted spirits caused at least 120 deaths.
[Al Jazeera]
