5 dead, several ill after consuming spurious liquor in Tamil Nadu; 1 held, 4 cops suspended

The deceased included one woman, Malarvizhi (60), and four men – Shankar (55), Dharanivel (50), Suresh (65), and Rajamoorthy (55).

An official said a man named Amaran (25), from Marakkanam, near Villupuram, was arrested for his role in the sale of the liquor.

“The liquor that had caused the deaths was reportedly a lethal cocktail of methanol, chemicals and water, and was sold as arrack,” the official said.

The illicit liquor was being sold for Rs 30 for a 200 ml packet. “Some have been consuming seven or eight packets a day. They said they had been buying it from the same seller for many years,” said an official familiar with the victims’ statements.

A preliminary investigation revealed that more than 15 people had purchased the brew from Amaran on Saturday, and by Sunday evening, at least eight of them were still hospitalised in Puducherry.

The district police intelligence had information about the growing demand and supply of illicit liquor, backed by a nexus of officials and bootleggers.

The state government has moved quickly to take action as the Opposition strongly criticised it over the incident.

The Director General of Police, C Sylendra Babu, ordered the suspension of four police personnel in connection with the incident. They included two inspectors, Arun Vadivel Azhagan (Marakkanam) and Maria Sobi Manjula (Kottakuppam-Prohibition Enforcement Wing), and two sub-inspectors, K Deepan (Marakkanam) and Siva Gurunathan (Prohibition Enforcement Wing).

Expressing grief and shock over the incident, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the government would take stringent action to eradicate the menace of illicit liquor and drugs, and announced that Rs 10 lakh each would be given to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those under medical treatment.

Political leaders, including Minister for Higher Education K Ponmudy and Minister for Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare Gingee K S Masthan, visited those who were undergoing treatment in Puducherry.

Multiple police teams deployed in the Marakkanam area launched a search operation in many hamlets in search of illicit liquor stocks in the area.

Villupuram MP D Ravikumar, who met the patients at JIPMER, has called for stringent action against the accused involved. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said police should arrest those involved in the production and distribution of illicit liquor. “There is no point in arresting one seller alone. The entire network should be destroyed,” he said.

Opposition AIADMK and PMK have criticised the ruling DMK over the incident.

AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition, Edappadi K Palaniswami, blamed the DMK’s “sheer inefficiency” for the deaths and demanded immediate action against illicit liquor. Similarly, PMK founder S Ramadoss demanded action against officials connected with the sale of illicit liquor, and reiterated his party’s call for ending nationalisation of liquor sales in the state.

The deaths also triggered public outrage, with residents of Marakanam staging a road-blockade on the East Coast Road, which connects Chennai with Puducherry.

SP N Shreenatha and Collector Palani visited those hospitalised on Sunday morning and expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.