GUNTUR: A married couple were reportedly found dead after allegedly consuming illicit liquor in Guntur district on Sunday. One of their relatives has also been hospitalised.
The police said Gandham Anjaiah (44), a street vendor, had purchased two bottles of cheap liquor from a store and consumed some amount of it with his nehew Verajaneyulu in Nizampatnam. Later he went to Yajili village in Karlapalem mandal and drank some more with his wife Maremma (35). Some time later, the couple started vomiting and were shifted to a Bapatla hospital. They died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. The deceased couple hailed from Naragaram of Guntur district.
Meanwhile, Verajaneyulu was also shifted to the hospital and is said to be responding to the treatment.
The relatives alleged the deaths were due to consumption of illicit liquor and, in this view, the excise and prohibition department has initiated an inquiry into the incident. The department’s assistant commissioner, Sridhar Reddy, and superintendent, V Aruna Kumari, have collected samples of liquor that was bought from the shop.
They said the samples would be sent to the laboratory for analysis. Bapatla Rural CI Ch Koteswara Rao and Nizampatnam SI V Someswara Rao have conducted inquiry at the shop. The bodies were sent to Bapatla area hospital for postmortem.