Four persons including a 15-year-old boy died and six others were hospitalised in Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu after consuming food and alcoholon Sunday night. The police suspect that the men consumed food or alcohol laced with poison that led to their deaths.
Six persons, including a 13-year-old boy, have been hospitalized in Madurai Rajaji Government Hospital.
Though it was initially reported that the four had died due to consuming spurious liquor, investigators are now looking at the possibility of a pre-planned murder.
It is also being reported that one of the deceased, Murugan, had a fall-out with his sister, Valli, who allegedly poisoned his food. According to the report, Valli and Murugan had personal issues and when she prepared food for Murugan, she laced it with poison. It is said that the food was shared among the workers, who took ill when they began consuming alcohol, and four of them died.
The police have now arrested Valli, but haven’t filed a case against her so far. They are still investigating whether there was any other accomplice in the crime. Speaking to TNM, Rajarajan said, 'What we see here is a planned murder. Where the alcohol was procured is of no relevance. It has been laced with poison. It seems like the result of some family dispute. An inspector-level officer is leading the investigations. We’ll get to the bottom of it very fast."
The deceased have been identified as D Murugan, 28, M Ganesh, 20, Mohammed Ibrahim, 22, and Gautham, 15. All of the victims worked as construction labourers.
It is reported that the group purchased the liquor from a state-run TASMAC outlet in Parasakthi Colony in Sivakasi and consumed it near the Sirukulam irrigation tank premises.
Seven teams have been formed to probe the incident.