Authorities in India said on Thursday that at least 22 individuals have been confirmed deceased and a number of others have been admitted to hospitals after reportedly consuming hazardous alcohol.
According to health officials, the deaths that were reported between Wednesday night and Thursday morning mostly occurred in two villages in the eastern state of Bihar where the sale and consumption of alcohol are forbidden.
However, a raucous and growing black market for cheap alcohol produced in unlicensed backstreet distilleries that kill hundreds of people every year has resulted from the alcohol ban in various Indian states, according to local media.
The illicit liquor is often spiked with methanol to increase its potency and if ingested in large quantities, can cause blindness, liver damage and death.
“In the latest incident, victims in Saran district began vomiting on Tuesday before their condition deteriorated.
“Three died on the way to hospital and others died while being treated on Wednesday and Thursday,” the reports said, putting the death toll at 31.
Hospital chief Sagar Dulal Sinha said 22 post-mortem examinations had been conducted so far while a senior police officer Santosh Kumar, said authorities had cracked down on illicit alcohol shops in the area.
“We have arrested over a dozen liquor traders and detained some others,” Kumar told reporters.
In July, 42 people died in the western state of Gujarat after drinking bootleg booze while about 100 people died in the northern state of Punjab in a similar incident last year.
