Indian officials said on Wednesday that the death toll from an adulterated liquor incident had risen to 38 and that another 51 people needed admission to hospitals in Gujarat province.
The case broke out last Monday (25) in Ahmedabad, and the victims were mostly agricultural workers. Local police have deployed around 100 officers to find out if there are other patients who have not yet sought adequate treatment.
A spokesman for the corporation said some of the deaths were people who were hospitalized in critical condition.
According to Gujarat Police Director General Ashish Bhatia, a shipment of methanol (industrial methyl alcohol) was stolen from a chemical plant and used in the production of a kind of liquor. The victims would have ingested the adulterated product imagining it to be a regular alcoholic beverage.
“The crime was solved in less than 24 hours,” said Bhatia. Thirteen people are being investigated, of which six have already been detained. Additional investigations will still be carried out, according to the corporation.
Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, is present in the formulation of paint removers, varnishes, jet fuel, antifreeze and other chemicals. Even in small doses it can lead to death if swallowed.
In India, the sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited unless a consumption permit is obtained from the government. Even in these cases, the product usually has high prices, which makes access even more difficult.
Due to the restrictions, an illegal parallel industry emerged, with ramifications across the country. Without paying taxes and selling large quantities at low prices, smugglers make huge profits.
In this scenario, deaths from ingesting illegal substances and homemade liqueurs – “hooch”, as the Indians call it – became relatively common in the country. Illegal alcohol is cheap and often adulterated with chemicals like pesticides.
In 2020 alone, at least 120 people died after drinking contaminated alcoholic beverages in the northern Indian state of Punjab alone.
