New Delhi - At least 10 people died and 35 more were
hospitalized after drinking illegally brewed alcohol in India's
northern state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Tuesday.
The villagers, mostly poor farmers and workers, fell ill after
drinking the poisonous alcohol in a hamlet in Barabanki district on
Monday night.
They procured the liquor from a local vendor and some bootleggers
have been arrested.
Officials said many of the victims started complaining of severe
abdominal pain and vomiting soon after consuming the tainted brew.
"A total of 10 people including four people from one family have
died. Seven among those hospitalized are critical and it is likely
the death toll could rise," Barabanki's top official Udai Bhanu
Tripathi said by phone.
Local media reported a higher toll of 14 people killed.
State chief minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a probe into the
tragedy which is to be completed in two days time.
A total of 14 excise department and police officials were suspended
for their laxity and negligence in the incident.
"The police is conducting raids to arrest people connected with the
illicit trade and seize tainted liquor. Three bootleggers have been
arrested, but the kingpin, the owner of the unit where the liquor was
manufactured, is still at large," Tripathi said.
The illegal liquor trade thrives in India, because it is much cheaper
than commercially produced alcohol. Methanol, a chemical used in
antifreeze and wood spirits, is often found in such drinks.
In February, 151 people, mostly tea-plantation workers, died after
drinking toxic alcohol in one of the country's worst liquor
poisonings in recent years.
An average of 1 000 people, most of them poor, die in India each year
after consuming illegally brewed alcohol, government data shows.