Bihar hooch: 3 more dead, toll rises to 16

The death toll in the latest suspected hooch tragedy in “dry” Bihar has climbed to 16 as three more people died in Aurangabad on Wednesday, police officials aware of the development said, requesting anonymity. The administration, however, confirmed only nine suspected hooch deaths — six in Aurangabad and three in Gaya. Aurangabad DM Saurabh Jorwal confirmed the six suspected deaths in the last three days. He said the spirit brought from Jharkhand and supplied to local sellers in bordering villages of Gaya and Aurangabad was behind the tragedy. Gaya SSP Harpreet Kaur said the kingpin, Santosh Chaudhary, and four of his associates have been arrested. Meanwhile, 15 people who had fallen ill, including a Home Guard constable and a hooch seller, were still undergoing treatment.

Indian-origin politician councillor Mohinder K Midha has been elected the mayor of Ealing Council in west London, becoming the first woman mayor of a local London council belonging to the Dalit community. Midha, from the UK’S opposition Labour Party, was elected for the 2022-23 term at a council meeting on Tuesday. “We are so proud that Cllr Mohinder Midha has been elected Mayor of Ealing for the next year,” the Labour Party in Ealing said in a statement. The election is being celebrated by the British Dalit community as a proud moment. “The first ever Dalit woman mayor in the UK. A proud moment for us,” said Santosh Dass, chair of the Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisation (FABO) UK, an umbrella group representing Dalit rights in the country. Midha had previously served as the deputy mayor of the council.