According to authorities, toxic alcohol has killed at least 37 people in the alcohol-free state of Bihar in eastern India. Unconfirmed reports place the death toll at over 70.
Numerous regions of India forbid the sale and consumption of alcohol, creating a robust illicit market for powerful and occasionally deadly backstreet moonshine that claims hundreds of lives every year.
Families of those killed in the most recent disaster said that on Monday, guests at a wedding and other functions drank “Mahua” or “Desi Daru,” a locally produced alcoholic beverage, from many villages.
Then several began throwing up and complaining of stomach ache. More than 20 people had passed away by Thursday, and 12 more were hospitalized on Saturday in critical condition.
In the past 48 hours, “more than two dozen people have lost their life,” a police spokesman told AFP, adding that 37 people had already passed away.
He was unable to verify rumors in the local media that 71 persons had passed away.
In the previous three days, police have detained more than 100 people in connection with the unauthorized production and sale of alcohol, and 600 liters of booze have been seized.
Although local officials have made a big deal about using motorboats, helicopters, and drones to combat the black market, the most recent occurrence is merely the most recent in a line of tragic incidents of a similar nature.
