Killer brew consumes 11 lives

All those hospitalised were said to be out of danger, hospital officials said.

Officials however maintained that only eight deaths had occurred8211;five at Putur and three at Ramavaram colony, four kms from Tiruvallur.

Residents of Putur told a visiting PTI reporter that many more who had consumed the spurious liquor, could have succumbed at some far flung hamlets.

District Superintendent of Police K Radhakrishnan said Selvam 35, who had allegedly supplied the illicit brew, had been arrested. Police are on the lookout for Jayaraman, who had allegedly replenished the exhausted liquor supply with alcohol procured from a nearby chemical factory.

Meanwhile, following the orders of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, seven police personnel including a Deputy Superintendent of Police have been suspended.

According to police and residents, the tragedy began with the death of Nityanandan of Putur, a railway employee working at Perambur in Chennai, early yesterday morning. All the victims had gathered to condole his death.

In a peculiar way of mourning the death, they started drinking liquor and when the local supplies were exhausted, went in for the brew allegedly procured by Jayaraman.

The victims initially complained of vomiting and later of blurred vision and were soon rushed to the hospital.

Eight of them, including Susheela 44 and Vasantha 40 succumbed at the hospital.

Residents at Putur, however, counted Nityanandan himself as the first victim. His relatives and neighbours said he had brought two of his associates from Perambur. They counted the three of them among the dead.

Also, many of the residents spoke of more deaths at Vembathur and Melnadathur, but there was no official confirmation to this.