AHMADABAD, India, July 9, 2009
86 Deaths Blamed on Toxic Indian Moonshine
Tainted Home-brewed Liquor Responsible for Killing Mostly Poor Workers in Slums
-
Men who consumed illicitly brewed liquor are treated at a hospital in Ahmadabad, India, Thursday, July 9, 2009. (AP)
-
Fast Facts India Learn about the people, economy and history.
The death toll has risen precipitously since people first fell ill Monday after a night of drinking. Seventeen people died in hospitals on Thursday; others have fallen dead in the streets.
Another 140 people are in serious condition and being treated in hospitals in Ahmadabad, the main city in Gujarat state, said Deputy Medical Superintendent Mukesh Patel.
Deaths from drinking illegally brewed cheap alcohol are common in India, where few people can afford licensed liquor. Known locally as desi daru (pronounced THEY-see DAA-roo), illicit liquor is often spiked with pesticides or chemicals to increase its potency.
In Gujarat, the problem is worse because the state law prohibits the sale of all liquor. Gujarat is the home state of India's independence leader, Mohandas Gandhi, who was a strong advocate of prohibition.
Police have arrested 32 people for allegedly manufacturing and selling the tainted liquor in the city, said a police officer at a central police office. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
Authorities asked a retired judge to investigate the deaths and suspended six police officers for negligence of duty, said state Home Minister Amit Shah.
Most of the victims lived in the Majur Gam and Odhav localities of Ahmadabad - slums inhabited by thousands of mostly poor laborers.
They included Arvind Solanki who allegedly brewed the tainted drink in his home and sold it to the workers, said Saikia.
In 1980, 128 people died after drinking tainted liquor in Majur Gam.
© MMIX The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
More From World
Add a Comment
- "Tainted Home-brewed Liquor Responsible for Killing Mostly Poor Workers in Slums"
The water from the Ganges River used in the moonshine probably would've been enough to kill all of those people. - Reply to this comment
- And I thought MAD DOG 20/20 was bad ....................
- Reply to this comment
- More proof that prohibition doesn't work.
- Reply to this comment
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
