In one of the country's worst hooch or illicit liquor tragedies, a total of 107 people have died and over 150 people taken ill after consumption of illicit liquor in the western Indian state of Gujarat, a senior police official said Friday.
"Late last night 12 more people succumbed to illness caused by comsunption of spurious liquor, taking the toll to 107. Some 150 people are undergoing treatment in local hospitals in the city of Ahmedabad," the official said.
Meanwhile, the state police have launched a massive crackdown against those operating illicit liquor dens in the cities of Surat, Ahmedabad, Valsad, Bharuch, Vadodara across the state.
"Some 800 people have been arrested for selling spurious liquor and the raids are going on. We will soon bring all the culprits to book," the official said.
This is not the lone hooch tragedy that has happened in the country in the recent past. Almost every month, there are some people dying after consuming spurious liquor in the country.
Eight died in Orissa in eastern India in June and 170 died in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in southern India in May after drinking hooch.
Over 30 died in Delhi in March and some 23 people died in Kolkata in January for the same reason.
(Xinhua News Agency July 11, 2009)
