Tamil Nadu Hooch Tragedy: 10 Dead, Over 40 Hospitalised After Consuming Spurious Liquor

Chennai: Another horrific hooch tragedy has hit the state of Tamil Nadu, wherein at least 10 people lost their life and around 40 others were hospitalised after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Kallakurichi district in the state on Wednesday. According to the reports, the people fell ill after consuming illicit liquor 'packet arrack' in Kallakurichi. Following the incident, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has ordered a CB-CID inquiry on the issue.

Meanwhile, the reported deaths due to illicit liquor has prompted the state government to shunt out the district collector (DC) and place the superintendent of police (SP) under suspension for the alleged lapses. Taking swift action over the incident, the Tamil Nadu government has transferred District Collector Sravan Kumar Jatavath and appointed MS Prashanth as the new DC for the district.

Kallakurichi SP and Other Police Officials Suspended Over the Issue

Kallakurichi SP Samay Singh Meena has been placed under suspension along with several other police officials. IPS officer Rajath Chaturvedi has taken charge as the new SP of the district. The government has also transferred the entire Prohibition Enforcement Wing (PEW) in Kallakurichi district for lapses.

An accused identified as Govindaraj has been arrested in the matter. As per the police, a majority of the victims are daily wage labourers and they are believed to have bought liquor from Govindaraj. "200 litres of spurious liquor was recovered from the accused. The lab reports have revealed that methanol was mixed with liquor," the police stated.

On the instruction of the chief minister, Public Works Department Minister EV Velu and Health Minister Ma Subramanian reached Kallakurichi to take stock of the situation.

Family members of the victims alleged that they had complained of sudden loss of vision and hearing, severe stomach pain and vomiting. The incident triggered a major uproar, following which the government rushed specialised medical teams to Kallakurichi government hospital, while critically-ill patients were rushed to hospitals in Salem, Tiruvannamalai, and Puducherry.

This tragic incident has come up a year after 22 people had died in twin hooch tragedies in Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts of Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the Opposition AIADMK and the BJP condemned the ruling DMK government over the incident with Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami asking Stalin to take people's lives lightly.

Demanding resignation of Minister For Prohibition and Excise S Muthusamy alleging misgovernance, BJP's K Annamalai stated, "It is heart-wrenching to see parents cry out of the pain of losing their child and wife losing her husband due to the consumption of illicit liquor. DMK has not learnt its lesson. There is zero accountability in the DMK government and ministers do not fear consequences for posing (for pictures) with illicit liquor sellers."