Mumbai hooch tragedy death toll rises to 33, nine critical

The alleged mastermind, a woman called Akka who supplied the beverage to the shanty, is currently on the run.

The death toll in the hooch tragedy in Malad’s Malvani area rose to 33 on Friday with 20 more dying overnight. Confirming the latest figures, Mumbai Police added that nine others were critical. “More deaths have been reported from various hospitals in the past few hours. In addition to the 33 deaths, nine are still critical,” said Mumbai Police spokesperson Dhananjay Kulkarni. Investigators are yet to find out the total number of those who had consumed the spurious alcohol sold in one of the shanties in a slum in Lakshmi Nagar area. The alleged mastermind, a woman called Akka who supplied the beverage to the shanty, is currently on the run. Her accomplice Raju Langda is being questioned by the police. Akka was arrested by State Excise Department last December but the officials did not share much on the revelations made by her during interrogation on the manufacturing and supply of the hooch.   The Hindu