New Delhi - Riots broke out during police raids on breweries in India's Gujarat state after 16 people died drinking tainted liquor, news reports said Wednesday. Police said the death toll rose to 16 after nine more men died in hospitals in the state's Ahmedabad district on Tuesday evening.
The victims had consumed the brew on Monday night, the PTI news agency reported.
The incident prompted protests in the city in which women demanded that the government crack down on illegal liquor dens.
There was more trouble after the state administration ordered police raids on local breweries, the Times of India newspaper reported.
Protests began in worker-dominated localities in Ahmedabad where the brewing and sale of liquor is common, the report said.
Residents threw stones and police used tear-gas to disperse the crowds after raids at five places in the district.
Police told local news channels that the situation was "tense but under control" on Wednesday and the raids would continue.
Illicit liquor is a thriving business in India because it is much cheaper than legal alcohol, but contaminated products cause scores of deaths each year, mostly in the eastern and southern regions.
