The Hindu : Front Page : Toddy kills two in Kollam district

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 29, 2007
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Toddy kills two in Kollam district

Staff Reporter

Many people who consumed toddy served at a shop near Punalur hospitalised

KOLLAM: Two persons were reported killed in Kollam district on Tuesday after consuming “excessive amounts” of toddy of dubious quality. The incident took place at Avaneeshwaram, near Punalur. Eleven person who consumed the toddy were admitted to Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Thiruvananthapuram and eight others to Punalur Government Hospital.

Sources said the toddy was served at a shop at Avaneeshwaram to regular customers as an Onam gift. The deceased were identified as Sudhakaran, 35, and Georgekutty, 54. The death of a third person, Mohammed Sherief, 55, who also consumed liquor from the same shop, has been officially attributed to cardiac arrest. Minister for Excise P.K. Gurudasan told The Hindu that he had directed the police to arrest the owner of the toddy shop. Mr. Gurudasan said that according to medical reports given to him, the deaths were due to excessive consumption of the toddy. The Minister visited the victims at the hospital late on Tuesday night.

Following reports of the death, a mob descended on the scene and set fire to the shop. A police posse under the supervision of Kollam SP M.R. Ajith Kumar is camping at the site. There was a skirmish between a group of DYFI activists and Pathanapuram MLA K.B. Ganesh Kumar when he arrived at the shop on hearing the news. The police brought the situation under control.

Preliminary finding

Our Staff Reporter writes from Thiruvananthapuram: According to doctors at Thiruvananthapuram MCH, after preliminary investigation there was no trace of formaldehyde in the blood sample of the victims. Those admitted to the MCH are Samuel, 55, and Prasannakumar, 28, residents of Vilakkudi, Santhan, 70, from Elambal, Ramchandran, 55, Gopi, 45, Sureshkumar, 27, Anil kumar, 27 and Gopi Pillai, 60, all from Avaneeswaram, Anandan, 36, Subair, 54, and Saludeen, 46 from Kunnikkode. The condition of Samuel and Shantan is reported to be critical.

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