Seven people died and several others fell ill after allegedly consuming spurious liquor at Ghusuri in West Bengal’s Howrah district. Though the results of the post-mortem are awaited, family members of the deceased said that all of them consumed illicit liquor from a shop in the area. A senior police officer of Howrah Police Commisionerate said that seven persons had died so far. The liquor shop owner, Pratap Karmakar, has been arrested by Malipanchghora Police station. The shops selling illicit liquor have been closed and samples of the liquor have been collected by the police.
The locals said that the deceased fell ill on Tuesday night after consuming liquor from one shop. Family members said they started to vomit and complained of abdominal pain. Those who died were residents of a slum and were the only earning members of the family.
Locals, mostly women, held protests in the area on Wednesday. They alleged that hooch dens had been operating in the area in full public view and the police were well awae of it. The locality where the deaths occurred is not far from the local police station. Tension prevailed in the area after the incident. A number of people were admitted to State-run hospitals.
