Death toll rises in India's hooch tragedy

Alcohol has been banned in Gujarat state since 1960

A man is shifted on a stretcher upon arriving in an ambulance at the civil hospital in Ahmedabad on July 26, 2022, after suffering health problems due to consuming bootleg liquor. (Photo by Sam PANTHAKY / AFP)Show less

The death toll in the counterfeit liquor tragedy in India’s western Gujarat state increased to 39 on Tuesday.

As many as 88 people are undergoing treatment at several state hospitals and at least a dozen of them are critically ill.

The state government said the cause of the deaths is “chemical poisoning” and the brew consumed by the victims contained 98.71 per cent methyl alcohol.

The police in their initial investigation found that small-time bootleggers from different villages in Botad had made the counterfeit alcohol by mixing water with methyl alcohol.

The fatal combination was then sold to villagers for 20 rupees (25 cents) a pouch.

The methyl alcohol was illegally sourced by a worker in a chemical packaging company in the state’s Ahmedabad city.

Police said two cases were filed against 25 persons on charges of murder and nine persons were arrested.

About 460 litres of the chemical was also seized in the raids.

“This is a clear-cut case of chemical poisoning," senior state police officer Ashok Kumar Yadav told The National. "The Forensic Science Laboratory report has also confirmed that."

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  A man is taken to hospital in Ahmedabad after drinking bootleg alcohol. AFP

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  At least three dozen people have died and as many as 30 others are still fighting for their lives after consuming counterfeit alcohol in India’s western Gujarat state. AFP

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  One man, who was recovering at a hospital in Barwala, told local media that he fell ill after buying the alcohol from a bootlegger. AFP

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  Many others were still fighting for life in hospital. AP

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  Rameshbhai Shankarbhai Rathva is brought to the civil hospital in Ahmedabad for treatment. AP

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  Alcoholic drinks are banned in Gujarat — the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — and only those with special 'health permits' from the government can drink alcohol. AP

Dry state

Alcohol has been banned in Gujarat since 1960 but illegal sales of products such as moonshine are rampant, particularly among the poor.

The "dry" state is administered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

Consumers need special "permits" to purchase or consume alcohol in the state, one of the many in India where prohibition has spurred an illicit liquor market.

Any person caught purchasing, consuming or serving alcohol without a permit can be jailed for five years.

Any person involved in making liquor that has led to a fatality faces the death penalty.

The incident has triggered a political slugfest ahead of the assembly elections next year.

The Aam Admi Party, one of the opposition parties, has termed the deaths “murder” and will hold a protest outside the BJP headquarters in capital New Delhi on Wednesday.