19 die after consuming illicit liquor in Nagaland; 3,000 bottles seized

The deaths prompted police to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and intensify raids against the illegal sale of alcohol.

The death toll has risen to 19 after eight more people who consumed suspected spurious liquor in Nagaland died in Mokokchung district over the past two days, officials said.

It is worth noting that a prohibition law has been in place in Nagaland since 1990. (Representative image)

“We have confirmation regarding the unfortunate death of eight persons because of suspected consumption of spurious liquor. In view of the situation, the police, district administration, excise department and all the stakeholders are trying to take the corrective and preventive measures,” deputy commissioner of Mokokchung district Ajit Kumar Verma said.

This comes after police confirmed that 11 deaths occurred between September 10 and 12 after the patients were admitted to the district government hospital in neighbouring Tuensang district. Preliminary enquiries revealed that all the deceased reported consuming alcohol prior to developing symptoms including blurred vision, severe headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

Nagaland is a dry state with its own prohibition law, the Nagaland Total Liquor Prohibition (NLTP) Act, 1989, which prohibits the possession, sale, consumption and manufacture of liquor, as well as its import and export in the state. Following the Tuensang tragedy, the church body issued a statement urging the state government to strengthen enforcement against illegal liquor sales to ensure the protective intent of the NLTP Act is not weakened in practice.

The deaths prompted police to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and intensify raids against the illegal sale of alcohol. In connection with this, 25 persons have been arrested across Mokokchung district alone as of Saturday.

Senior superintendent of police, Mokokchung, Vesupra Kezo, said preliminary enquiry indicated that the source of the suspected adulterated alcohol originated from a neighbouring state, although he did not say which state.

Nagaland shares interstate borders with Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh and an international border with Myanmar. He said that if forensic examination establishes that the liquor was adulterated, Nagaland Police would coordinate with the neighbouring state’s police.

Kezo said that the source of the alcohol involved in the Tuensang cases was traced to a neighbouring state and that Mokokchung Police are coordinating with their Tuensang counterparts in connection with the case.

He said postmortems of the deceased were conducted, and samples will be sent to the Central Forensic Laboratory in Guwahati next week for examination. The suspected liquor seized during the raids will also be sent to the laboratory for forensic analysis, the district police head said.

Meanwhile, the police in Tuensang district have confirmed the detection of methanol in the batch of liquor seized after 11 persons died on suspicion of consuming spurious liquor.

In a statement, the Tuensang Police said the report on samples sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Dimapur, tested positive for the presence of methanol (methyl alcohol) qualitatively. However, the FSL Dimapur is said to have specifically mentioned that quantitative estimation of methanol could not be carried out due to the non-availability of required instruments.

Subsequently, the samples were forwarded to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Guwahati, for detailed quantitative analysis, and the results are awaited.

“The investigation is continuing on all relevant aspects, including the source, supply chain and distribution of the suspected alcoholic beverages. Further action will be taken on the basis of the complete forensic and investigative findings,” the police statement said.

The state health and family welfare department on September 24 issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to all health facilities in the state regarding the management of suspected adulterated alcohol (methanol) poisoning.