2 die, 1 ill after liquor party in Indore; 'suspected poisoning', say police

At least two persons lost their lives while a third fell seriously ill in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, in what the city police described on Tuesday as a case of suspected poisoning. Speaking to media, Indore Superintendent of Police (SP) Mahesh Chandra Jain said the three were part of a group of friends which attended a liquor party at a city bar last week.

"A group of seven friends consumed liquor and had dinner at a licensed bar in the Chhota Bangarda area till late night on Friday. However, on Saturday, one of them, a 30-year-old man, passed away and a day later, another man, also 30 years of age, too, died," Jain told the media. The officer further said that in the autopsy report of the second youth, doctors mentioned "suspected poisoning" as the cause of death.

Jain, however, cautioned "it is not right to reach any conclusion now," adding that even if true, it is yet to be ascertained whether the deceased died due to spurious liquor or consumed some toxic food during the party. "Samples of liquor and food items have been collected from the outlet and sent for laboratory examination," he said.

The condition of a third member of the group, meanwhile, is "very serious," a friend said, adding that doctors have said he has shown symptoms of consuming spurious liquor.

Speaking on the issue, assistant excise commissioner Rajnarayan Soni said a detailed probe is being conducted into the incident. "Around 100 others consumed alochol and ate food at the same outlet that night. However, nobody else has so far complained of any health-related complications," Soni said.

(With PTI inputs)