MP: Mandsaur spurious liquor death toll rises to six
The death toll in the spurious liquor incident in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur rose to six on Tuesday with the death of three more men during treatment, officials said. Four others are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.
"Three more men, two of them 40-year-old and another 35-year-old, died during treatment at different hospitals," said Piplia Mandi police station in-charge OP Tantwar.
He said those undergoing treatment had reportedly purchased liquor from a dhaba (roadside hotel) and a liquor outlet.
Earlier, three persons died at Khakhrai village in the Mandsaur district on Saturday and Sunday after consuming liquor purchased from a local grocery shop. The exact cause of their deaths was not yet clear.
Meanwhile, a 25-year-od patient told reporters that he had purchased liquor from a dhaba and started feeling uneasy after consuming it.
Another patient, a 23-year-old man, admitted in the Mandsaur district hospital, said he had purchased alcohol from a liquor outlet but suffered a blurred vision after drinking.
Mandsaur district hospital civil surgeon Dr KD Sharma told reporters that two men were admitted for treatment after consuming liquor on Tuesday.
One person died in a private hospital while another died during the treatment at the district hospital on Tuesday, while one more person died in Piplia Mandi, he said.
They all had a history of liquor consumption before death, he said.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath alleged the state government was trying to hide the incident as well as the death toll in the Khakhrai village, which falls under Excise Minister Jagdish Devda's assembly constituency.
“No high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident so far. No relief or financial assistance was declared for the victims of the spurious liquor tragedy…Why is the government trying to save the mafia involved in the illegal liquor trade?” Nath said in a statement.
On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal said, "the government's crackdown against illegal liquor trade, which grew during the previous Congress regime, has been continuing”.
A police station in-charge and an assistant sub-inspector were suspended earlier in connection with the incident, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Monday.
