TIRUVARUR: Three persons died and one fell ill on Friday after consuming liquor near Valangaiman in the district.
Police said that M Ramarathinam (40), of North Street in Keezha Amaravathi, working at a tea stall in Valangaiman bought two brandy bottles each on the eve of Deepavali from a TASMAC shop in Valangaiman bazaar on Papanasam-Kudavasal road. After consuming one bottle, he stocked the other.
On Thursday night, Ramarathinam started consuming the brandy from the remaining bottle.
He along with his friends S Devendran (45) of the same area, S Anand (35) of Thenkarai in Kuchchipalayam and S Gajendran (40) of Sivankoil in Keezha Amaravathy consumed liquor near his house. After the binge, all the four ate fish curry, police sources said.
After some time, all of them reportedly developed severe diarrhoea and swooned. They were rushed to the Kumbakonam Government Hospital where Ramarathinam and Devendran died. The other two were rushed to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital. Anand died on the way to the hospital, while Gajendran underwent treatment at the facility.
G Dharmarajan, superintendent of police, Thanjavur, rushed to the spot and made inquiries with the staff of the TASMAC outlet and with the family members of Ramarathinam. Inquiries were also held with the family members of the friends of Ramarathinam. Following the inquiries, the police said they suspect that the liquor stored for consumption by Ramarathinam could have been laced with poison.
Meanwhile, the relatives of the deceased persons staged a road blockade in Keezha Amaravathy demanding compensation.