The number of deaths suspected to be due to alleged consumption of spurious liquor has risen to 18 in Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari district during the last week. Two persons succumbed on Saturday, March 12, taking the death toll to 18 in Jangareddygudem even as officials from various departments were conducting an investigation.
According to officials, a man identified as Anil died at a hospital early Saturday, while hours later Upendra, a native of Odisha, succumbed at Jangareddygudem Government Hospital. The condition of another person Varadaraju is stated to be critical. He is undergoing treatment at Guntur Government Hospital.
Addressing the media on March 12, state Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas (Nani) claimed that Upendra had died from cardiac arrest as per medical reports. The minister said that five deaths were recorded at the government hospital, and that the remaining victims’ families had stated that they had been consuming alcohol in excessive amounts. The health minister denied allegations that the deaths were mainly due to the government’s failure to control sale of illicit liquor. He refuted reports that the death toll was higher, claiming that the remaining victims had all had various health complications, and that the allegations over illicit liquor consumption were politically motivated.
Meanwhile, officials of the Revenue, Police, Excise, Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), Medical and Health departments are conducting an inquiry into the cause of deaths. The teams visited the houses of the victims to gather details as part of the investigation.
Nagalakshmi, whose husband Appa Rao (46) died three days ago, lodged a complaint with the police. She alleged that he died due to consumption of contaminated arrack. Police began a probe into her complaint. West Godavari Superintendent of Police Rahul Sarma visited the town on Friday, March 11 and gathered details.
Families of the victims claimed that they died after consumption of spurious country-made liquor. Within hours after consuming the liquor, the victims complained of giddiness, vomiting, stomachache and diarrhoea. The victims were aged between 35 and 65 years.
Officials, however, said preliminary inquiries show they died due to different reasons. They were suspected to be suffering from health problems like cardiac ailments and post-COVID-19 complications, officials said. However, a detailed investigation is on to ascertain the reasons.
Locals say sale of illicitly distilled liquor is high in Jangareddygudem and surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has blamed the state government for the deaths. TDP women's wing Telugu Mahila president Vangalapudi Anitha demanded that the YSRCP government initiate immediate steps to save people's lives by preventing sale of illicit liquor, ganja and country-made arrack.