Tainted liquor kills 6 in northern India

Deaths from drinking spurious liquor were also reported in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in northern India. (Image from Google Maps)

LUCKNOW, India — At least six villagers died and five others were hospitalized after drinking tainted liquor in northern India, police said Tuesday.

The deceased bought the liquor from a shop in a village in Barabanki district in Uttar Pradesh state on Monday night, police officer Ajay Sahni said.

They started vomiting after drinking it and were rushed to a district hospital, Sahni said.

Six people died and another five were being treated at the hospital, he said. The deceased were a father and his three sons and two neighbors.

Deaths from illegally brewed alcohol are common in India because the poor cannot afford licensed brands from government-run shops. Illicit liquor is cheap and often spiked to increase potency.

In February, 150 people, mostly tea plantation workers, died and about 200 were hospitalized after drinking tainted liquor laced with methyl alcohol in two separate incidents in Assam state in India’s remote northeast. /kga