A batch of toxic illegal alcohol in India has resulted in the deaths of at least 34 people, with over 100 others hospitalized, Tamil Nadu state officials reported Thursday.
The deadly concoction of locally brewed arrack was laced with poisonous methanol, as stated by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, according to the Press Trust of India.
Stalin announced that arrests have been made in connection with the deaths and emphasized that such crimes, which “ruin society,” will be “suppressed with an iron fist,” according to a statement from his office.
Each year, hundreds of people in India die from consuming cheap alcohol produced in backstreet distilleries.
To increase its potency, the liquor is often mixed with methanol, a toxic substance that can cause blindness, liver damage, and death.
In the Tamil Nadu incident, more than 100 people were hospitalized, reported M.S. Prasanth, a senior government official in the state’s Kallakurichi district, as quoted by Indian media.
State Governor R.N. Ravi expressed deep shock over the deaths and noted that many more victims are in serious condition, fighting for their lives, in a post on social media platform X.
Although Tamil Nadu is not a dry state, black market liquor is cheaper than legally sold alcohol.
The sale and consumption of alcohol are banned in several other parts of India, which fuels a thriving black market for potent and sometimes lethal illicit moonshine.
In previous incidents, poisonous alcohol killed at least 27 people in one instance in the eastern Indian state of Bihar last year, and at least 42 people in Gujarat in 2022.
