Hooch Tragedy: Spurious liquor claims 17 lives in Assam's Golaghat district

Guwahati: Barely days after a similar tragedy was reported from the state of Uttar Pradesh, at least 17 people, including four women, have died from consuming spurious liquor in Assam's Golaghat district. The deceased have been identified as tea garden workers employed at the Salmara tea estate. As per latest reports, another 11 workers are currently being treated at various hospitals in the district for consumption of country-made liquor. Officials familiar with the matter told Times of India that those affected are believed to have consumed methyl alcohol mixed liquor. While a preliminary investigation indicates that the deaths were triggered by consumption of hooch, post-mortems of the deceased are yet to be conducted. It is also being reported that four women who were among the deceased, succumbed while on their way to the hospital on Thursday night. The impact of these deaths was visible in the Assam Assembly on Friday morning where opposition leaders blamed the state excise department over its failure to check consumption of country-made liquor. Earlier this month, as many as 72 people from Haridwar district in Uttarakhand and Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh died from the consumption of spurious liquor. Top officials dubbed the incident as a 'hooch tragedy'. A probe was also launched into the matter resulting in the arrest of two suspects, a father-son duo, by Uttar Pradesh police. It was also reported y sections of the media that the deceased consumed country-made liquor after the last rites ceremony of a mutual acquaintance. Source: Times Now