59 die drinking tainted liquor in India
Pastor Dale Morgan
59 die drinking tainted liquor in India*
The Associated Press
Monday, May 19, 2008; 9:15 AM
NEW DELHI -- Locally brewed liquor apparently tainted with lethal
chemicals killed at least 59 people in southern India over the weekend,
police said Monday.
Bootleggers began selling the deadly brew on Saturday after police shut
authorized liquor shops in parts of the Karnataka state because of
voting for the state government, said Sri Kumar, the state police chief.
In India, liquor stores and bars are routinely closed during elections
to prevent politicians from handing out free alcohol in a bid to win votes.
Since Saturday, 59 people, most of them poor laborers, have died and 17
others were in hospital, said Kumar.
Twenty-seven deaths occurred in Bangalore, India's key information
technology hub, and 19 died in the neighboring Kolar district. Another
13 people died in a village just across the state border with Tamil Nadu
state, he said.
Kumar said six people have been arrested for selling the killer
concoction, and police were analyzing the drink to determine what made
it so deadly.
Deaths from illicitly brewed liquor are frequent in Indian villages and
towns, where locally made brew is often spiked with pesticides or
chemicals like the banned methyl alcohol to make it stronger or increase
the amount.