Gujarat spurious liquor case: Toll rises to 6; over 25 hospitalised in Bhavnagar

The death toll in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar spurious liquor case rose to six on Thursday after another person died during treatment, police said. More than 25 people are undergoing treatment at Sir T Hospital and other hospitals, Bhavnagar SP Nitesh Pandey said.

According to the first information report (FIR) registered at Vartej police station, the victims had consumed liquor in Kharakadi village in Gujarat on Tuesday night and fell ill. Some were taken to hospitals in Bhavnagar, where six have died.

Police found that the liquor was prepared using methanol and filled into bottles carrying a liquor brand label. A seized bottle contained 38.59% methanol and 0.94% ethanol. Methanol was also detected in blood samples of victims.

The FIR stated that Vartej resident Gautam Solanki allegedly procured materials including methanol and other substances to prepare the liquor. He and others prepared the liquor and sold it through a network. It also names Narendra Singh Yadav, a resident of Madhya Pradesh, among the accused.

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The FIR names 21 accused in all, including people from Vartej, Kharakadi and other parts of Bhavnagar district.

The report says the accused bought liquor bottles and other material, prepared the methanol-laced liquor and sold it in bottles carrying a liquor brand label. Police are investigating the source of the methanol, the number of bottles prepared and sold and the distribution network.

Pandey said people who had consumed liquor recently and were feeling unwell were being advised to visit hospitals and undergo tests as a precaution.

Gujarat is a dry state, where the manufacture, sale and consumption of liquor are prohibited under the state’s prohibition law.