Country liquor laced with toxic chemicals killed at least 29 people, including 16 women, in villages inhabited by tea plantation workers across eastern Assam’s Golaghat and Jorhat districts.
Officials in these two districts said more than 45 people have been admitted to hospitals. The condition of four of them is critical.
The hooch tragedy first struck Salmara Tea Estate in Golaghat district on Thursday night. By Friday evening, it left 19 people, including 12 women, dead. Some of the victims were from the nearby Jugibari and Goronga villages in the district.
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Seven others, including three women, died in a tea estate at Borhola in the adjoining Jorhat district.
“So far, 19 people have died from consuming spurious liquor in three places while 34 others are undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital in Golaghat and in the Jorhat Medical College Hospital (JMCH),” Golaghat Deputy Commissioner Dhiren Hazarika told The Hindu .
His Jorhat counterpart, Roshni Aparanji Korathi, said seven people among more than 15 who complained of uneasiness after consuming liquor, died in Borhola. The condition of the others, admitted to the JMCH, was stable.
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“The liquor was sourced from two villagers who have been identified. We will take action against them,” she said.
The person who sold the liquor at both Salmara and Borhola died.
“A four-member team has been asked to submit a report in three days,” Excise Minister Parimal Suklabaidya said.