By IANS
Mumbai : At least 16 people have died after drinking illicit liquor in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, police officials said Thursday.
The men, from Pali village, about 125 km south of Mumbai, purchased the liquor Tuesday from a local pharmacy, Sanjeevni Medicals, the police said.
“The latest figure we have is 16 dead. We are still collating information from different villages and hospitals in that area,” K.K. Pathak, inspector general of the Konkan range, told IANS.
Eleven people who had fallen ill after drinking the spurious alcohol have been admitted in Alibaug government hospital and two rushed to J.J. Hospital here.
The police have arrested the pharmacy owner Subhash Oswal and charged him with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Pathak said that police teams were trying to ascertain how many more people had purchased the spurious spirit from the pharmacy.
“We are also seeking information from all other medical stores and even liquor shops to find out if they had sold the spirit to the locals,” Pathak said.
Earlier, Umar Patil, investigating officer of Pali village police station, had confirmed eight deaths.
Unconfirmed reports said the liquor was purchased in advance in view of the ‘dry day’ Wednesday marking the 60th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The raw spirit was bought by the locals, mainly tribals, and mixed with other ingredients to concoct a local alcoholic brew.
Police teams have also fanned out to surrounding villages and remote hamlets to find out how many people had carried the deadly spirit with them to brew the liquor.