In the past two days, in the Gopalganj and West Champaran districts of Bihar, where a total prohibition has been imposed, at least 24 people have died and several others have become ill due to drinking suspected fake alcohol. On Thursday, eight people were reported to have died after drinking alcohol in the Telhua village of Bettiah, the headquarters of the West Champaran district. The death toll in another incident of consumption of suspected fake alcohol in Gopalganj climbed to 16 on Thursday.

The area confirmed another 6 people died in the authorities. So far, the governments of these two regions have not confirmed the cause of death. The Telhua hooch tragedy is the third such incident in northern Bihar in the past ten days. Bihar Minister Janak Ram rushed to Gopalganj. He later told reporters: “I have been to the house of a person who allegedly died of drinking fake wine. This may be a conspiracy to slander the NDA government.” Gopalganj  superintendent of police Anand Kumar said: “In the past two days, in Muhammadpur village in the area, some people died under mysterious circumstances.

Since the autopsy report is still awaiting, the cause of their death cannot be confirmed. Three teams are investigating the case. The local police said that some of the bodies had been cremated by their families. They said that four people died during treatment on Thursday, and two others died on their way to the hospital. On the surface, these deaths seem to be caused by the consumption of a certain toxic substance, and the police have filed a case.

The police said four people have been arrested in connection with incidents that took place from Tuesday to Wednesday. It is said that more than 20 people drank fake wine sold by local merchants in the area, most of which belonged to the scheduled castes and have been confirmed by the police. The deceased in West Champaran has been identified as residents of Wards 2, 3 and 4 in Telhua Village.

News Source : Hindustan Times