BHOPAL: Four men-- two siblings and an uncle-nephew duo--died mysteriously in a suspected case of consumption of illicit country-made liquor in Ghauspur village of Morena district of Madhya Pradesh over last 48 hours.
While the first of the four men, 22-year-old Brajendra died following bouts of vomiting on Saturday night, his brother Sunil (27) and uncle-nephew duo Giriraj (45) and Chotu (35) died on Sunday night and Monday morning.
Four others from the district were hospitalised on Monday after showing up similar symptoms.
Three men have been admitted at the Jaya Arogya Hospital in Gwalior, all of whose conditions is said to be critical.
Police and excise department officials spent four hours at the Ghauspur village under Sarai Chhola police station area (470 km from Bhopal) and recorded the statements of the bereaved families on Monday.
“We spent four hours in Ghauspur and visited the nook and cranny of the village, but are still unable to establish how the four villagers died and others took ill. No one, including the kin of the deceased and hospitalised men is able to tell what the men consumed on Saturday evening. It’s still not clear whether they consumed illicit liquor, contaminated meat or anything else, All that is common is that all of them had reported bouts of vomiting,” Morena district excise officer Vandana Pandey told the New Indian Express over phone.
Earlier, on Monday morning many villagers had alleged that the men became ill after consuming illicit liquor on Saturday evening, but the same villagers failed to locate where the illicit liquor was consumed.
“We have not even found any illicit liquor den from where the alleged illicit liquor could have been sent to Ghauspur village,” said Pandey.
The police and excise department team, however, found a few partially empty bottles of country made liquor supplied from a licensed vend.
“The liquor which bottles were found 1-2 km from residences of the deceased and ill men is manufactured at a distillery in Gwalior and supplied not only in Morena, but also in Datia and Gwalior districts. Had it been poisonous, many more would have died or taken ill in other districts as well,” the Morena district excise officer said.
“We’re awaiting the autopsy reports and viscera analysis reports of the deceased as well as waiting for analysis of the doctors treating the four ill men in Gwalior and Morena to figure out what actually could have happened on Saturday night,” she said.