‘Hooch’ kills 3 in Ahmedabad,15 take ill

They are among 15 others who took ill after consuming hooch. Incidently,this happened at Marwaadivas of Ramdevnagar,right opposite the Satellite police station. The police,who are wary about hooch after the recent tragedy that claimed over 100 lives in the city,said it was “illegal country liquor”,insisting that it should not be described as hooch.

The brother of one of the victims,Sukhram Dantani,told The Indian Express that they had got the hooch from brewers at Marwaadivas. “They call it Daango,and it can be procured upon demand. They brew it locally at Marwaadivas and costs Rs 25 per pouch. My brother,Nandu,had bought a pouch from there on Monday,” he said.

Another in the hospital is Nandu Dantani,a florist staying at Bopal Awaas in Ramdevnagar area. According to his brother,he consumed alcohol on Sunday and developed an acute stomach ache,and then,blindness. He was rushed to a private clinic and then to V S Hospital where he is now on ventilator support.

Dantani said that those at Marwaadivas brew their hooch using “wheat flour,furniture polish and alum” and sell the stuff in small pouches.

Two of the deceased,Vardhan Marwadi and Leela Marwadi,are residents of Marwaadivas who reportedly brewed hooch. Leela’s neighbour,on the condition of anonymity,said,“Vardhan was an alcoholic and Leela who stayed close by brewed and supplied hooch”. She showed a vessel nearby and claimed that such pots and vessels were used for brewing. People at Marwaadivas also claimed that many others were taken to private hospitals from there.

The V S Hospital authorities confirmed six cases of hooch. On December 28,Vardhan Marwadi and Ramesh Parmar (Vejalpur) were admitted,who died on December 29.

On December 29,Leela Marwadi’s body was brought to V S Hospital for autopsy. She was admitted in a private clinic at Satellite where she reportedly died. Three others,Nandu Dantani (Satellite),Dhana Marwadi,and Naran Parmar (Gulbai Tekra) were admitted in a critical condition.

The police had earlier claimed that Vardhan died of “fits” and Ramesh from diarrhoea. But the Ellisbridge police inspector admitted on Wednesday that all the victims had ‘some form of alcohol’. “They have consumed country-made liquor for sure,but we cannot say if it was really hooch. The blood samples are with the FSL who are yet to confirm if they contain methyl alcohol,” he added. Incidentally,family members of both Nandu and Naran have also admitted to their consuming hooch.

The police maintained: “They are casual labourers. If there are some who brew hooch,we have no clue. The ones who died or are in the hospital must have consumed it in Sarkhej.”