Tainted liquor kills over 100
2008-05-20 14:55
New Delhi - More than 100 people have died in India's southern Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states after drinking adulterated liquor over the weekend, officials and news reports said on Tuesday.
Most of the victims who consumed the killer brew on Sunday were workers and farmers who generally buy cheap liquor.
Police said 94 people had died in hospitals in the Karnataka state capital Bangalore, adjoining Kolar district and Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district that lies near Kolar.
Inquiries from the police in affected areas revealed that 43 people had died in Bangalore, 21 in Kolar and 30 in Krishnagiri district.
Forty-three fresh fatalities were reported since Monday evening, the police said.
Local news reports said 15 deaths were reported from new areas around the Karnataka capital like Hoskote, Anekal and Bangarpet in Kolar district.
Meanwhile, the state police intensified their investigations and raided several villages on the outskirts of the Bangalore city, where the tainted liquor was being manufactured.
"We have arrested some vendors in the Bangalore and Kolar areas and are hopeful of nabbing the main accused in the case soon," Bangalore's Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) BK Singh said in a telephone interview.
Victims could lose their eyesight
Material to brew thousands of litres of spurious liquor was also destroyed in overnight raids in villages on the outskirts of Bangalore.
Government officials said that 68 people were being treated in various hospitals in the affected areas and the death toll could rise further as the condition of some villagers was serious. Many of the victims could lose their eyesight, officials added.
Scores of people die in India every year after consuming moonshine liquor. Many of the deaths are reported from the eastern and southern parts of the country.
There is a thriving illicit liquor business in India as poor people find it much cheaper than legally brewed alcohol. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA