Kallakurichi:A pall of gloom has descended on Karunapuram, which is just a call away from Kallakurichi town bus station. Passing through the streets, one can presently hear only the wails and cries of the family members of the hooch victims.
Among the deceased is Paramasivan, a 37-year-old labourer. His brother Udayakumar while talking to ETV Bharat said, "Our brother is not married, he is a labourer and drinks spurious liquor every day after work. Yesterday, he suffered stomach ache and was admitted to the hospital." Paramashiva died during treatment.
Ramakrishnan's wife from Karunapuram arrived at the hospital, screaming in the middle of the night, saying, "We are from a poor family. We can survive only if we work every day. I had gone to work in school and my husband had fallen ill from drinking liquor by the time I returned."
Two deaths in one family:Lakshmi, who was crying at the hospital premises, said both her mother Kala and father Ravi had been admitted to the hospital, but she could not find them even after searching the entire hospital. Lakshmi said the doctors finally confirmed that both of them had died when she showed them photographs of her parents.
Most of the victims were taken to the hospital by their relatives after they suffered from loss of eye sight and severe stomach ache. Suresh from Karunapuram was the first to die after drinking liquor. He drank spurious liquor on the evening of June 18 and then again on the morning of June 19. He died sometime later. Arrangements were made to cremate the bodies of all the deceased on the banks of the river Gomuki.
Arrests in connection of hooch tragedy:Kannukutty alias Govindaraj, his wife Vijaya and Damodaran have been arrested on charges of selling illicit liquor. Police are looking for another person, Chinnadurai, who is allegedly involved in the case. The investigation of the case has been transferred to CBCID.