Toxic booze claims more than 100 in north India

MORE than 100 people died in two Indian states after drinking bootleg alcohol, police and media said yesterday, in the worst such case in years.

Many of those who died in Haridwar in northern Uttarkhand state and two districts in neighboring Uttar Pradesh complained of stomach pains and respiratory problems, relatives and officials said.

Police have arrested four people in connection with the deaths, Haridwar senior superintendent of police Janmaijai Prabhakar said.

“Total casualties in Haridwar remain at 36 and right now around 18 people are undergoing treatment,” he said.

Officials in Uttar Pradesh could not be reached for latest casualty figures yesterday, but at least 69 people have died in the state, according to newspaper reports.

Deaths from illegally-produced alcohol, known locally as “hooch” or “country liquor,” are a regular occurrence in India, where many cannot afford branded spirits.

But the current death toll is believed to be the deadliest outbreak since a similar case killed 172 in West Bengal in 2011.

The district magistrate of Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh, Alok Pandey, said last week that doctors had concluded many victims died “due to liver infection and problems in their respiratory system.”

(Reuters)