At least 33 dead due to spurious liquor in West Bengal!One hundred and twenty-
two people were still admitted to hospitals
at Diamond Harbour and Sangrampur.
2,055 jailed in drive against spurious liquor
South 24 Parganas district magistrate N.S. Nigam told IBNS that the death toll rose to 33 while about 102 people were still admitted in hospitals.
The incident occurred under Usthi police station area in Mograhat.
The critically sick people were being treated in a hospital in Diamond Harbour.
"We are shifting them to Bangur Hospital and Calcutta Medical College Hospital," Nigam said.
At least four bootleggers were arrested.
The state government has announced Rs 2 lakh as compensation to the families of the dead.
Local people alleged spurious liquor business was going on in collusion with a section of the policemen.
Over 2,000 people were arrested across Uttar Pradesh during a drive against the manufacture and sale of spurious liquor, an official spokesman said in Lucknow on Tuesday. "In the two-day drive launched from February 27 to check the manufacture and sale of spurious liquor during Holi, 1,965 FIRs were lodged and 2,055 people were arrested on charges of bootlegging," he added. Earlier, in the wake of hooch tragedies in Varanasi and Ghaziabad, DGP Karamveer Singh had directed police chiefs of all districts to launch a drive against the illegal sale of liquor. It was directed to maintain special vigil on the Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand borders. During the drive, 27,252 litres of country-made and 3,344 litres of Indian-made foreign liquor was recovered, the spokesman said. "Besides 1,100 kg ganja, 250 illegal units manufacturing country-made liquor were also unearthed," he said.
Four persons died in Ghaziabad on Friday after consuming spurious liquor. On February 16, sixteen people died after consuming spurious liquor in Varanasi.
Four persons have been arrested for supplying spurious liquor at Sangrampur village in Magraha -1 block of the South 24-Parganas district. Magrahat is 52 km from state capital Kolkata.
"Twenty-three people have died so far," District Magistrate N.S. Nigam told IANS by phone.
He said 112 people had been admitted to various hospitals after they fell ill in the early hours Wednesday.
"Now 89 are in hospital and quite a few of them are serious", said the DM.
Those who took ill have been admitted to the Diamond Harbour Hospital, health centres and nursing homes in the city.
The mishap occurred after the villagers drank country liquor Tuesday night at a den near Sangrampur railway station.
"From around 2 a.m. Wednesday, people started vomiting, had loose motions and complained of serious stomach pain. A lot of people are still there in hospital. The toll will go up massively," said a Sangrampur resident.
Angry locals demolished the liquor den Wednesday morning. Senior district police officers are camping in the area. A medical team has been rushed to the area.
In Kolkata, raising the incident in the state assembly, opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Abdur Rezzak Mollah demanded a statement from the chief minister.
Hooch claims five lives in Ghaziabad
Five persons were killed and 15 others affected since yesterday after consuming spurious liquor in four villages in Simbhawli area in Garh Mukteshwar tehsil, 70 km from here, District Magistrate R Ramesh Kumar said.
A magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident and SHO Simbhawli Om Prakash put under suspension with immediate effect.
India toxic alcohol kills 29 in West Bengal
Gujarat has taken drastic action to try to prevent toxic alcohol deathsAt least 29 people have died after consuming toxic alcohol in India's West Bengal state, police say.
Several residents of the Magrahat, Usthi and Mandirbazar areas in South 24 Parganas district fell ill after drinking the alcohol on Tuesday night. Four people have been arrested.
Some 100 others are being treated in hospital in the Diamond Harbour area, with fears the death toll could rise.
Toxic alcohol deaths are a regular occurrence in India.
Last week, the state of Gujarat brought in a new law making the illegal manufacture and sale of toxic alcohol there punishable by death.
Illegal alcohol - commonly called desi daroo or country-made liquor in India - usually costs as little as 10 rupees (20 US cents) and the majority of the consumers are poor, daily-wage workers.
The liquor is usually spiked with methyl alcohol and industrial spirits which can lead to fits, vomiting and death.
India has witnessed many incidents of toxic alcohol deaths.
- At least 10 people killed in Tamil Nadu in February 2010
- At least 30 people killed in Uttar Pradesh in September 2009
- Some 107 people killed in Gujarat in July 2009
Gujarat has taken the strongest action on toxic liquor with its new law, which it says is intended to deter those involved in the illegal trade.
Gujarat is the only state in India where alcohol is totally prohibited by law.
Orissa orders probe into 'spurious liquor deaths'
The Orissa government on Monday ordered an inquiry by a senior excise official after allegations of seven deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor in several villages of tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district.
In the last 10 days, seven people of several villages under Talachua GP of Kaptipada Block in Mayurbhanj district have died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor from a local shop. Besides, 16 others who had consumed the liquor from the same shop have been admitted to different hospitals.
Orissa excise commissioner Sudarshan Nayak said the local administration has no confirmation about these being liquor-related deaths. "No case of unnatural death has been registered at the local police station," he said.
Making, transporting illicit liquor can fetch death penalty
Gujarat Governor gives assent to Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2009
Manufacturing, stocking or even transporting "lathha," a country-made spurious liquor, can now fetch death penalty in Gujarat if such brew caused death.
"The Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2009," providing for death penalty for playing a role in the manufacture of the killer brew has been finally given assent by Governor Kamala Beniwal after initial objections.
The Bill was passed by the Assembly soon after a major hooch tragedy in July, 2009, in which 157 people lost their lives in Ahmedabad, while many others lost their vision or suffered other infirmities. The existing prohibition Act was amended to provide for stringent punishments, including death penalty for manufacturing, stocking, transporting and distributing spurious liquor if it caused death. The existing Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949, provided for only one-year imprisonment to the manufacturer and distributor of the spurious liquor.
The Governor initially returned the Bill with a suggestion to reconsider the death penalty. But neither the government nor the Opposition agreed to drop the provision and re-sent the Bill to the Raj Bhavan.
Under the new law, persons convicted of manufacturing or distributing spurious liquor could be sent to jail for seven to 10 years, and in case of death, the convicts could be awarded death penalty or life imprisonment.
The amended Act, apart from targeting the brewers, also provides for stern action against policemen, if found guilty of ineffective investigation into hooch tragedies or letting off the guilty. Such policemen would be fined Rs. 3,000 or sentenced to a year in jail for lax investigation in hooch cases. The act bars bail or bond for the accused and they would be forced to stay behind bars until the closure of the case, unlike in the past when one could get out of jail against a bail or bond.
The biggest ever hooch tragedy struck Gujarat in 1989 when 257 people were killed in Vadodara. Over 354 lost their lives in 25 smaller tragedies in different parts of the State between 1971 and 1997. In 2009, 157 people were killed in Ahmedabad, forcing the State administration to frame stringent measures to try and stop such man-made tragedies.
Keywords: Gujarat Governor Kamala Beniwal, Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2009, assent
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2692746.ece
Probe ordered into liquor deaths
By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR/BARIPADA: The State government has ordered an inquiry by a senior excise official after allegations of seven deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor in several villages of tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district.
In the last 10 days, seven people of several villages under Talachua GP of Kaptipada Block in Mayurbhanj district have died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor from a local shop.
Besides, 16 others who had consumed the liquor from the same shop have been admitted to different hospitals.
Excise commissioner Sudarshan Nayak said the local administration has no confirmation about these being liquor-related deaths."No case of unnatural death has been registered at the local police station," he said.
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