New Delhi - As many as 43 people have died after drinking illegally-distilled liquor in India's western Gujarat state, which prompted the state government to take action against local police officers, news reports said Wednesday. The death toll rose after 27 more deaths were reported from different areas in the state's Ahmedabad district since Tuesday evening, according to Gujarat police chief SS Khandwawala, the PTI news agency reported. Most of the victims were workers.
Coming under fire from the state opposition in what is one of the worst tainted liquor tragedies in Gujarat, the state government suspended six police officials and instituted an judicial inquiry.
The victims had consumed the liquor Sunday night and the first death was reported on Tuesday, police said. Twenty nine people were being treated at hospitals.
The sale and consumption of alcohol is banned across Gujarat since the state's formation in 1960.
The incident prompted protests in the city on Tuesday 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 stills, the Times of India newspaper reported.
Protests began in worker-dominated localities in Ahmedabad where the preparation 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.
The rising death toll also sparked protests from voluntary organizations as well as Gujarat's main opposition Congress party who have blamed the state administration for the tragedy.
Police said the situation was "tense but under control" and the matter was being thoroughly investigated to identify liquor dens and arrest bootleggers across the state.
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.
