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13 people die in Kallakurchi after drinking illicit liquor
At least 13 people have died and 30 others have been hospitalised after they allegedly consumed illicit liquor in Kallakurichi district in Tamil Nadu, prompting the state government to transfer the district collector and suspend the superintendent of police.
At least 13 people have died and 30 others have been hospitalised after they allegedly consumed illicit liquor in Kallakurichi district in Tamil Nadu, prompting the state government to transfer the district collector and suspend the superintendent of police.
“Prima facie, it appears that they consumed pocket liquor (sold illegally in the market),” a senior government official said, adding that chief minister MK Stalin has ordered that the case be investigated by the CB-CID.
Earlier, police arrested three individuals. The accused, identified as Kannakutti Damodaran, Kannakutti Govindaraj and Ramesh, have been arrested on charges of manufacturing and sale of spurious liquor.
The victims — most of whom are daily wage workers — consumed illicitly manufactured liquor on Tuesday night and began having health problems post midnight. The victims reportedly had complained of sudden loss of vision and hearing, severe stomach pain and vomiting.
District collector Sravan Kumar Jatavath told reporters that those undergoing treatment in the hospital told him about their symptoms. “But we do not know yet if it (liquor) is contaminated with methanol. We are awaiting lab reports,” Kumar said. Blood samples of the deceased have been sent to forensic labs in Villupuram district and Puducherry’s Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER).
The deaths and subsequent action comes a day before the Tamil Nadu assembly is set to be convened on June 20. The district collector Sravan Kumar Jatavath has been transferred and superintendent of police (SP) Samay Singh Meena has been suspended.
While MS Prasanth will replace Jatavath, Rajat Chaturvedi will be the new SP. The state government also transferred the entire Prohibition Enforcement Wing (PEW) in Kallakurichi district for alleged lapses.
Tamil Nadu’s opposition AIADMK and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were quick to condemn the ruling DMK government over the incident. Leader of opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) said that chief minister MK Stalin must not take people’s lives lightly. “I have been continuously pointing out that illicit liquor is running rampant in this DMK regime, and I strongly condemn the DMK government for not taking any action to eliminate illicit liquor even after many lives have already been lost due to it,” EPS said.
BJP state president K Annamalai demanded the resignation of Tamil Nadu’s minister for prohibition and excise, Thangam Thennarasu, for misgovernance. “It is heart-wrenching to see parents cry out of the pain of losing their child and wives losing their husbands due to the consumption of illicit liquor. DMK has not learnt their lesson …,” Annamalai said in a post on X. “There is zero accountability in the DMK govt and ministers do not fear consequences for posing with illicit liquor sellers.”
Grieving family and relatives of the victims, who were undergoing treatment, gathered at the local government hospital. “There shouldn’t be more liquor shops in Kallakurichi,” said Maria, whose husband died while undergoing treatment at the local government hospital. “This is the first time so many deaths have happened in Kallakurichi.”
Last year, 22 people died in twin hooch tragedies in Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts.
