Four dead, 16 ill after drinking spurious liquor.

The condition of two of the persons who fell ill after drinking the liquor was critical and they were rushed to Siliguri for treatment.

Four people died and another 16 took ill after drinking spurious liquor at Balurghat in West Bengal's South Dinajpur district, police said on Tuesday.

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The condition of two of the persons who fell ill after drinking the liquor late on Monday night was critical and they were rushed to Siliguri for treatment, they said.

The dead, all in their twenties, bought the brew from a local liquor shop. The shop's owner fled the area after news of the deaths spread and police have sealed the outlet. Police are on looking for the shop owner, Superintendent of Police Kalyan Mallick said.