The toll from the spurious liquor consumption case in Assam’s Golaghat and Jorhat has risen to at least 80, ANI reported on Saturday. At least 200 people are believed to have fallen ill after consuming spurious liquor, according to PTI.
Local reports, however, have pegged the number of dead to be over 100.
Officials expect the toll to rise as 20 people, who are in a critical condition, are undergoing treatment at the hospital, NorthEast Now reported. The excise department has started investigating the case. Deputy Superintendent of Police Partha Protim Saikia said that a sample of the liquor had been sent for a forensic investigation.
The victims had all sourced the liquor from a tea garden worker identified as Sanjay Oran, who also died after consuming the local brew known as Sulai. The liquor is a rectified spirit brewed from fermented molasses or rice in Assam.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered Upper Assam Division commissioner Julie Sonowal to investigate the matter.
Earlier this month, over 100 people had died after drinking spurious liquor in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
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