Death toll mounts to 104 in Assam, in one of country’s worst hooch tragedies

The death toll in one of India’s worst spurious liquor tragedies has risen to 104 in Assam’s Golaghat and Jorhat distircts, around 200 others are battling for their lives in

The death toll in one of India’s worst spurious liquor tragedies has risen to 104 in Assam’s Golaghat and Jorhat distircts, around 200 others are battling for their lives in various hospitals.

The police have so far arrested 9 people and the hunt for others who are engaged in the illegal trade of preparing and distributing illicit liquor is on.

Three of the 9 arrested are in critical condition as they too had consumed the spurious liqour.

Toxic alcohol kills 40 people in Assam's Golaghat district.https://t.co/334aETITod

— Northeast Live (@NELiveTV) February 22, 2019

Highly placed sources told Northeast Live that the cause of deaths was the consumption of the spurious liquor that was laced with metyhl alcohol, a deadly chemical that directly attacks a person’s central nervous system causing near instant death.

Shocked at the development chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has rushed four of his cabinet colleagues besides the local MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa to take stock of the situation and oversee the treatment of those in hospitals.

The Chief minister himself is set to visit the area later today to take stock of the situation.

The state government has, meanwhile, placed under suspension two officials of the excise department for their failure in combating the preparation, distribution and consumption of spurious liquor.

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