The sale, manufacture and consumption of liquor in India’s western state of Gujarat is illegal, but that doesn’t stop bootleggers from distributing cheap, “hooch” alcohol.
This week, at least 28 people died and 60 others got sick after drinking liquor that had a poisonous chemical added to it. The number of dead is expected to rise.
The incidents took place in the districts of Ahmedabad and Botad, where only those holding a permit issued by the government can consume liquor.
Officials are investigating and have detained and arrested several suspected manufacturers of the alcohol that sickened and killed so many people.
Industrial methyl alcohol stolen from a chemical unit was used to make the liquor, Gujarat’s Director General of Police, Ashish Bhatia told reporters.
Deaths from illegal “hooch” alcohol are common in India. Pesticides and other chemicals have been found in cheap liquor and are used to increase the potency. Manufacturing illegal liquor is a profitable business for bootleggers who pay no taxes and sell to the poor at a cheap price.
In 2020, at least 120 people died after drinking spiked liquor in India’s northern Punjab state.