Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Five people died and nearly a dozen others were hospitalised after consuming spurious liquor in Villupuram of Tamil Nadu. The incident took place at Ekkiyarkuppam fishing hamlet. A group of people had consumed liquor brewed locally on Saturday evening during a function.
The police said that those who consumed liquor started vomiting late at night. They were immediately shifted to a hospital. Three of them succumbed during the early hours of Sunday at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER). The deceased were identified as Sankar (50), Suresh (60) and Daranivel (50). Two more people succumbed later in the day. Their identity has not been confirmed yet.
Fifteen others were also admitted to the same hospital on Saturday night and Sunday early morning. The Villupuram district police superintendent N Sreenatha said that the police commenced an investigation immediately after they received complaints about people vomiting after consuming locally brewed liquor.
The police officer further stated that a few people were detained and were being questioned in connection with the incident. Police have been conducting raids at a few villages in the Marakkanam area, which is near Ekkiyarkuppam village, where people died of alleged illicit brew. The police launched an inquiry about the persons, who supplied the spurious liquor that claimed the lives of three persons.
The doctors are providing treatment to the remaining 11 persons, who were taken ill. Officials said that the status of their condition would be known only based on their response to the treatment. The family members and relatives of the deceased demanded an inquiry into the incident. (with agency inputs)
