Five people died after they consumed surgical spirit in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam district. A group of friends consumed the spirit at a party organised by one of them in Kasimkota village of the district late Saturday, the police said.
While three people died on Sunday, two others — P Dorababu (48) and Vadlapudi Manikyam (68) — succumbed at King George Hospital (KGH) in Visakhapatnam on Monday. Two others are undergoing treatment in the same hospital.
According to Kasimkota police, P Anand, who was working in a pharmaceutical company in Parawada, had allegedly brought the surgical spirit and threw a party for his friends. According to reports, the police at first suspected that they might have consumed the spirit by mistake, but investigation revealed that they had allegedly consumed the spirit on purpose, thinking it would give them extra intoxication.
After the party, the group went home but a couple of hours later suffered complications. Anand (55) and Nookaraju (65) died in their houses while Appa Rao (50) succumbed at KGH on Sunday. According to The Hindu, all three men were daily wage workers.
"We have registered a case and taken up investigations," a police official at Kasimkota police station said.
According to Deccan Chronicle, police registered a case under section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code (police to enquire and report on suicide, etc.) The surgical spirit was identified as isopropyl alcohol.
Isopropyl alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and can cause serious problems if ingested. In mild cases, an individual may exhibit signs of dehydration and their blood pressure can drop suddenly. Its corrosive nature can cause bleeding and ulceration of the stomach and intestines. In severe instances, it can also potentially result in a coma.
Earlier in April, a youngster from West Godavari district died after consuming isopropyl alcohol as a substitute for liquor. The incident took place at a time when wine shops were shut due to the lockdown. The 20-year-old man was from Kavalipuram village of Iragavaram mandal. According to reports, a man working with a chemical company accessed the isopropyl alcohol, used in the preparation of hand sanitisers, and invited his friends to consume the liquid after diluting it.
(With IANS inputs)