CHANDIGARH: Twenty people have died in three days in Haryana’s Sonipat, with the police suspecting them to be a case of hooch poisoning as all of them had bought liquor from the same liquor vend. All the victims are from four residential colonies — Pragati Colony, Mayur Vihar, Indian Colony and Shastri Colony — on the Gohana Road in Sonipat.
While seven people died on Monday, nine and four died on Tuesday and Wednesday. The family members of the sixteen deceased cremated the bodies without informing the police. The body of the four victims, who died on Wednesday, were taken into custody by the police and sent for postmortem. Most of the victims were from middle and lower middle class.
It is learnt that the police swung into action after bodies started arriving in large numbers at the Mehlana Road cremation ground . “Twenty people have died in the last three days and the families of most of the deceased have cremated their bodies.
But we have taken four bodies in custody and have sent them for postmortem,’’ Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sonipat, Virender Singh said. “We are waiting for the viscera report of the four victims. But till then cannot say anything with surety as we suspect these people died due to consumption of spurious liquor. The family members did not inform us about these deaths.” Sources said that till now eight deaths have been confirmed due to the liquor consumed from the liquor vend under question. The police is now conducting raids at all liquor shops in the area.