The Hindu : Front Page : Liquor tragedy: death toll in two States rises to 68

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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Liquor tragedy: death toll in two States rises to 68

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Bureaus

All the affected areas report fresh cases

— Photo: N. Bashkaran

AGONISING WAIT: Relatives of those who died after consuming illicit brew at the Hosur Government Hospital on Monday.

BANGALORE/CHENNAI: “I do not know how I will look after my six children. The future looks frightening,” said Dilshad, wife of 35-year-old labourer Shabbir, one of the 20 persons who died in D.J. Halli in Bangalore, the area devastated by illicit liquor deaths.

For dozens of poor families such as Dilshad’s in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the killer brew changed their life overnight.

The number of deaths went up on Monday with fresh cases reported in Bangalore, Hosur, Kolar, and Anekal. The death toll touched 68 by evening, 46 in Karnataka and 22 in Hosur in Tamil Nadu.

So far, 27 deaths have been reported in Bangalore and 19 in Kolar. Anekal in the Bangalore Rural district reported three deaths, though the police are yet to confirm that they are related to spurious liquor. All the affected areas have reported fresh cases, with 17 being hospitalised in Karnataka (in Kolar and Bangalore) and 30 admitted to the Krishnagiri and Hosur Government Hospitals in Tamil Nadu.

Ex gratia

The Executive Committee headed by Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur announced an ex gratia payment of Rs. 50,000 to the next of kin of the deceased and that the medical expenses of those undergoing treatment would be met. According to Thilagavathi, Tamil Nadu Additional Director-General of Police, Prohibition Enforcement Wing, methanol (methyl alcohol) was suspected to be the cause of the deaths. The police arrested Parvathi, who allegedly supplied the brew at an outlet in Binnamangalam on Sunday. Her husband, Girish, a bootlegger, was detained on May 15. Ms. Thilagavathi said special police teams had been formed to nab Ellappan, a bootlegger in Anekal, who had reportedly supplied the brew to Parvathi. Nine persons were arrested in Kolar, according to Additional Superintendent of Police K. Yallappa. But no arrests have been made in Bangalore.

The investigation will be handed over to Central Crime Branch police. P.K.H. Tharakan, adviser to the Karnataka Governor, Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) Shankar Bidri and other officials arrived in Kolar on Monday and visited the patients and affected places.S. Krishna Kumar, Adviser to the Karnataka Governor, said the Committee is considering a proposal to reduce the price of some brands of liquor to make them affordable for the poor.

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