Officials said on Saturday that toxic alcohol has killed at least 37 people in the alcohol-free state of Bihar in eastern India, however unsubstantiated reports placed the death toll at over 70.
Numerous regions of India forbid the sale and use of alcohol, creating a robust illicit market for powerful and occasionally deadly backstreet moonshine that claims hundreds of lives each year.
Families of the dead in the most recent disaster claimed that on Monday, guests at a wedding and other functions drank “Mahua” or “Desi Daru,” a locally produced alcoholic beverage, from numerous villages.
Then several began throwing up and complaining of stomach aches. More than 20 individuals had died by Thursday, and 12 more were hospitalized on Saturday in critical condition.
A police spokesman told AFP that 37 individuals had already passed away, adding that “more than two dozen people have lost lives in the previous 48 hours.”
He was unable to corroborate certain local media reports that 71 persons had passed away.
In the previous three days, 600 liters of liquor have been confiscated and more than 100 persons have been detained by the police on suspicion of making and selling alcohol illegally.
Although local officials have made a big out of using motorboats, helicopters, and drones to combat the black market, the most recent occurrence is only the most recent in a line of tragic incidents of a similar nature.
