The killings mostly happened in two communities in the underdeveloped eastern region, where alcohol sales and usage were outlawed in 2016.
Authorities and local media said that after consuming hazardous alcohol, at least 31 individuals in the Indian state of Bihar perished and a number of others were hospitalised. The murders mostly happened in two towns in the impoverished eastern province, where alcohol sales and use were outlawed in 2016 after women’s organisations pushed for poor employees to spend their little earnings on booze.
Numerous Indian states have such laws in place, which feed a robust underground market for cheap alcohol produced in unregulated distilleries that claims hundreds of lives each year. In the most recent occurrence, men began cleaning on Tuesday in the Saran district, which is roughly 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of the province capital Patna.
On Wednesday and Thursday, a number of individuals passed away on en route to the hospital and other people passed away while receiving care, although local media estimates placed the total at 31. Officials worry that the death toll may increase. According to Santosh Kumar, the head of police, several patients have lost their vision. He continued by saying that local illicit booze businesses had been busted by the police. More than 10 booze sellers have been detained, while others have been put in prison, Kumar told the AFP news agency.
A number of opposition groups, including the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), organised demonstrations outside the parliament building on Thursday to call for the lifting of the prohibition on alcohol and the payment of financial aid to bereaved families. The country’s BJP leader, Sushil Modi, claimed that more than 1,000 people had passed away after consuming tainted alcohol since the prohibition was enacted six years ago.
Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, rejected the opposition’s demands, claiming that the prohibition on alcohol sales was “not my desire but a reaction to the cry of the country’s women.” “Those who use alcohol will undoubtedly pass away. In this instance, there is an example “He spoke to the media in Hindi.
The International Spirits and Wine Association of India estimates that of the five billion tonnes of alcohol consumed yearly in the nation, around 40% is manufactured illegally. Methanol is often used to dilute illegal alcohol to boost its potency. Methanol poisoning may result in mortality, liver damage, and blindness.
In the western state of Gujarat in July, 42 individuals passed away after consuming alcohol. Alcohol manufacture, sale, and use are all outlawed in Gujarat, another Indian state. The similar occurrence claimed the lives of over 120 people in Punjab’s northern region in 2020.
