Toxic Bootleg Booze Kills 100 In India
At least 100 people in the West Bengal state of India have been died from drinking cheap, toxic, bootleg liquor.
The illegal liquor, which was bought at small shops in eastern India, contained deadly methanol and killed and poisoned many people late Tuesday night. Hundreds with symptoms of vomiting and stomach aches are being treated at hospitals. Those who drank the alcohol also had cases of sharp headaches, light-headedness and foaming at the mouth, according to the Washington Post.
The bootleg liquor was laced with methanol, according to reports. Legal drinking alcohol contains ethanol, but toxic methanol, which is used as anti-freeze, fuel, and a solvent, can lead to comas. The clear fluid was added to the bootleg liquor to spike it and add flavor. Drinking 10ml can lead to blindness and 30ml or more can be fatal, according to BBC News.
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Most of the victims are day laborers, street hawkers and rickshaw drivers. According to district magistrate Naraya Swarup Nigam, the uninformed patrons bought the illegal liquor for 20 cents (10 rupees) for a half liter. Nigam said the price is less than a third the cost of legal alcohol.
Police arrested 10 people who allegedly made and distributed the drink. They also destroyed 10 bootleg liquor dens in the area, according to the Washington Post. Police officials say the bootleg liquor came from an illegal distillery in a village called Mograhat. Police are still searching for the kingpin of the operation who fled.
Cheap bootleg liquor like this kills dozens every year in India, according to a NBC News report. In 2009, another 100 people died from a poisoned batch of alcohol in West India.
There is a large and unfulfilled demand for liquor in India, which is supplied by an underground and unregulated industry, claims Aniruddha Mookherjee of the BBC. Indian made foreign liquor is the legal liquor sold in India, which is produced from molasses. However, it is priced beyond the means of 80% of Indians at $7 (400 rupees) for 700ml. The alternative is the bootleg liquor, also known as “hooch.” It is made of cane sugar and is sold by word of mouth at about 30 (approx. 50 cents) rupees for a pouch or glass.
