Death toll in Guj hooch tragedy climbs to 28

Ahmedabad: The death toll due to the consumption of spurious liquor in Gujarat's Botad district has gone up to 28, a senior police official said on Tuesday.

A primary investigation has revealed that some small-time bootleggers including a woman from different villages in Botad had made the spurious liquor by mixing water with methyl alcohol (methanol), which is highly poisonous, and sold it to villagers for Rs 20 per pouch, as per a First Information Report (FIR) registered in the incident.

Blood samples of the deceased confirmed that they had consumed methanol, Gujarat Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia told reporters in Gandhinagar.

Three FIRs have been registered against 14 main culprits under Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder), 328 (causing hurt by poison) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and most of them have been detained, he said.

The matter had come to light early Monday morning when some people living in Rojid village in Botad and other surrounding villages were referred to government hospitals in Barvala area and Botad towns after their condition started deteriorating.

Twenty eight people have so far died after consuming the spurious liquor. Of them, 22 belonged to various villages in Botad district while six were from three villages in neighbouring Ahmedabad district, Bhatia said.

Besides, more than 45 people are currently admitted to hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad and Ahmedabad, he said.

"A forensic analysis has established that the deceased consumed methyl alcohol. We have booked 14 people on charge of murder and other offences and already detained most of the accused for further investigation," Bhatia said.