3 die after consuming ‘jal jeera’ in Gujarat’s Kheda; cardiac arrest primary cause, says report

While the families of the three victims have claimed that the men consumed country liquor, the police have said that the forensic test of the blood sample of the deceased did not reveal the presence of methanol.

According to the police, the three men allegedly collapsed within minutes of consuming the drink. The police said that the victims Yogesh Khushwah (40), Ravindra Rathod (59) and Kanu Chauhan (54), are alleged to have consumed a locally sold “jeera soda” from a shop after which they allegedly collapsed and were rushed to the civil hospital, where they were declared dead.

SP Gadhiya told The Indian Express, “According to the main eye-witness in the case, who also rushed the three men to the hospital when they collapsed, Chauhan had brought the drink and shared it with Rathod and Kushwah. The three were acquaintances and met regularly at the spot”.

“The same drink has been consumed by many other people on the same day but no other case has been reported. Therefore, the FSL team has collected the bottle that the three men drank from, along with a few others, from the dustbin near the shop where the bottle had been discarded,” said the SP.

Gadhiya added that the three men allegedly offered the drink to other people, including the eye-witness, but no one else consumed it from their bottle. Gadhiya said, “It is bottled jeera soda that is sold in local stores. The primary FSL report has not indicated the presence of methanol, so it was not country liquor. But, we are investigating the possibility that the bottle that was brought by Kanu Chauhan could have been laced with poison… a similar case happened in Junagadh a few years ago. We are trying to ascertain if Chauhan purchased the bottle himself or it was given to him by someone, who intended to harm him.”

Gadhiya added that the exact cause of death will be known after they receive the detailed histopathology report of the deceased. “Samples of their viscera have also been sent to the FSL Gandhinagar for a detailed report…the process is on to ascertain facts,” said Gadhiya.

Meanwhile, the families of the deceased claimed that the men were “habitual drinkers” and indulged in consuming country liquor almost daily.

Victim Kanu Chauhan’s uncle, PK Chauhan said, “My nephew was hearing and speech impaired and used to earn a few rupees by setting up a weighing scale near the Jawaharnagar railway crossing. Whatever little money he made every evening, he would spend on country liquor. He had been drinking it for almost five years”. “Last night, we received a call that he had collapsed. Within half an hour the three men died and I called the police,” Chauhan added.

Another victim, Khushwah’s son, Sunny, said, “My father used to sell fritters on his cart. He occasionally consumed country liquor. Last evening, too, he may have gone to consume the same brew. We do not know what he had… I received a call that he had met with an accident but when I reached the civil hospital, he was declared dead.”

SP Gadhiya said: “We are ascertaining what was in the drink. If it would have been country liquor, the presence of methanol in the blood sample would have confirmed it.”

In November 2023, five people had died in three villages of Bilodra, Vadadla and Bagdu village in the district after allegedly consuming “spurious Ayurvedic syrup” Kal Meghasava, between November 26 and 28, 2023. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate the case had arrested six people in the case after it had been established that the spurious ayurvedic syrup was manufactured in a unit in Nadiad by mixing sanitiser and misusing the Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) license issued to one of the accused for ayurvedic manufacturing under Yogi Ayurveda.