After five people died earlier this week due to consuming spurious liquor, Palakkad police found colourless liquid in a jar near the Chellakkavu tribal colony in Walayar in the district on Tuesday. About 11 litres of liquid was found in the 35-litre-capacity jar.
"We have sent the liquid for chemical testing. Only after the results can we tell what kind of chemical it is. It has an odour but no colour," Walayar station house officer Vini told TNM. The officer said that the deaths were due to consumption of spurious liquor, and this fact was confirmed by the doctor who did the post-mortems.
Eight people, including three women, who consumed the liquor are still under treatment. Raman (52), Ayyappan (55), his son Arun (22), Sivan (45), and his brother Moorthy (33) succumbed to the damage caused by the liquor. For Raman and Ayyappan, who died on Sunday, the cause of death was not yet known. As part of tribal traditions, others in the village consumed the liquor for his funeral, without knowing that it was poisonous. Following this, they developed uneasiness, and were admitted in a hospital.
Those under treatment in the hospital were not sure of what kind of liquor they consumed. However, they described the liquid as having a unique taste and smell to the police.
Mari, a woman from the colony who tasted the liquor, had earlier told the media that Sivan had brought it from somewhere else. She said that when mixed with water, it turned white in colour. She sipped it because it had a different smell, and felt uneasy just by consuming a small amount.
G Siva Vikram, the Palakkad district police Chief, told the media that the consumed liquid was not yet confirmed to be liquor. He said that, as per the statements from people, it had smelled of phenyl. He added that sanitizer might have been mixed in it.
The head of the hamlet, Viswanathan, told the media that Sivan supplied the liquor for three days last week. However, nobody knows where he got the liquid from.