Hooch toll 11, West Bengal govt orders probe

Kolkata, May 5 (PTI) At least 11 people have died and 30
others are undergoing treatment in different hospitals after
consuming spurious liquor in West Bengal's East Midnapore
district, official sources said Tuesday.

Unofficial reports, however, put the toll at 24 while 100
others were undergoing treatment at various hospitals at
Tamluk in the district and Kolkata.

Seven persons died in Tamluk hospitals and four in two
city hospitals on admission with complaints of vomitting and
abdominal pain hours after they consumed the spurious liquor
yesterday, the official sources said.

State Chief Secretary Asoke Mohan Chakraborty said some
of the victims were shifted from Tamluk to the state-run SSKM
and NRS hospitals here and four of the six admitted to SSKM
hospital had died.

Meanwhile, one person trading in spurious liquor was
arrested in Tamluk, he said.

The state government formed an inquiry committee with
Additional Commissioner of Excise department Ananda Ghosh to
go into the hooch tragedy and submit the report on May 18,
the sources said.

The police have been asked to pull down all unauthorised
liquor dens, they said.

Meanwhile, an irate mob ransacked the liquor dens and
destroyed liquor bottles in different areas of Tamluk. PTI