IN YET another case of illicit liquor deaths, at least 26 persons have died, including the liquor shop owner and 25 others are critical after consuming spurious liquor in Odisha. The incident occurred on Monday night as the victims, most of them daily labourers working in a brick kiln, complained of chest and eye pain after consuming hooch from a liquor shop of one Baidhar Bhoi at Tukuklipada under Barang block in Cuttack district.

The deceased have been identified as natives of various villages spread over Mahidharpada and Balianta areas of Cuttack and neighbouring Khurda districts respectively. Those critical are being treated at the SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. “We have seized a huge quantity of Ayurvedic liquid mixture stored at Bhoi’s liquor shop. Most of those killed were suspected to have consumed the mixture bottled in the brand name of ‘Jinger’ and ‘Surabhi’,” State Excise Commissioner Sudarsan Nayak told PTI news agency.

District collector Girish said that the country liquor had been mixed with some cough syrup procured from a pharmaceutical company, located at Rasulgarh area of Bhubaneswar. Police has so far arrested eight persons in this connection including the shop owner’s wife and son. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered judicial probe into the case and assured stringent punishment to the culprits.

Yet another tragedy

Odisha has an infamous history of liquor deaths. As the administrations fail to check illegal trading of liquor, people die consuming toxic country liquor, couple of times forcing the then Ministers of excise to resign.

In March 1996, 22 people died in Ganjam district after drinking adulterated liquor. In 1992, more than 200 people died after consuming poisonous liquor in Cuttack. More than 600 were serious.