 Map | |
| Date | June 20, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Location | Kallakurichi district, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Type | Mass poisoning |
| Cause | Methanol poisoning from hooch |
| Deaths | 65 |
| Non-fatal injuries | ~200 |
| Arrests | 3 |
The 2024 Tamil Nadu alcohol poisoning took place in Kallakurichi district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on 20 June 2024. Consumption of illegally made liquor resulted in at least 65 deaths and more than 200 injuries.
Illegal home-brewed liquor is consumed in various parts of India due to its cheaper price compared to the commercially available brands. These illicit liquors frequently have additional chemicals added to them such as pesticides or methanol, in order to increase potency. [1] There had been sporadic incidents of poisoning involving illegal liquor in India in the preceding years. In 2020, at least 120 people had died from consuming illicit liquor in Punjab and in 2022, 30 people died in Bihar and 28 died in Gujarat from similar incidents. [2]
On 20 June 2024, an incident of poisoning due to the consumption of illicit liquor occurred in Kallakurichi district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. [3] [4] [5] It resulted in vomiting, stomach aches and diarrhoea due to the presence of methanol in the liquor. [6] At least 58 people died from consumption of tainted liquor and more than 200 people were admitted to hospitals. [7] The injured were treated at various government hospitals in the state and JIPMER in Puducherry. [8] [9] As of 21 June, 28 people were reported to be in critical condition. [10] Most of those who died were economically and socially backward Dalits from Kallakurichi, and nearby villages. [8]
Chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin announced an ex gratia of ₹1 million (US$12,000) for the family of the deceased and ₹50,000 (US$600) for the injured. [11] The Government of Tamil Nadu issued orders for the transfer of then District Collector of Kallakurichi and the appointment of a new collector. It also ordered the suspension of the Superintendent of Police and ten members of the state police's prohibition enforcement wing for negligence. [12] [8]
On 21 June 2024, the government appointed a one-man commission headed by former Madras High Court judge B. Gokuldas to investigate the incident. [13] [14] On the same day, three people were arrested in connection with the case and were incarcerated at Cuddalore Central Prison. [15]
Governor of Tamil Nadu R. N. Ravi expressed shock over the incident and offered his condolences. [16] Leader of opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, Bharatiya Janata Party state president K. Annamalai and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam president Vijay criticised the government for the tragedy and demanded the resignation of the ministers concerned. [17] [18] [19] [20] The opposition also demanded a CBI-led inquiry of the incident. [21]
Karnataka liquor deaths are deaths in Karnataka state in India in 1981 by consuming illegal liquor. In July 1981 about 308 people died in Bangalore by illicit liquor. Adulteration of cheap liquor by methyl alcohol resulted in deaths.
The Gujarat alcohol poisonings occurred in July 2009 in Gujarat, resulting in the death of 136 people from consumption of bootleg liquor.
The Sangrampur methanol poisonings occurred when a methanol-tainted batch of illegal alcohol killed 143 people at Sangrampur village in Magrahat I CD Block of Diamond Harbour subdivision in December 2011, affecting mainly manual workers of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
The 2008 Karnataka-Tamil Nadu alcohol poisonings was an incident in the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in May 2008 in which 180 people reportedly died after consuming illicit liquor. This incident is considered to be the worst methanol poisoning in the country since at least 2000.
The Vypin alcohol poisonings killed an estimated 77 people in 1982 in Vypin near Kochi in Indian state of Kerala. Hundreds of people, mostly fish workers and other labourers, drank liquor supplied by several Government-licensed arrack shops. The incident occurred at the time of the festival of Onam. It killed 77 people, blinded 63, crippled 15, and reduced around 650 families to penury. When victims were hospitalized, doctors identified signs of methanol poisoning.
Cholai is an illegal alcoholic beverage made in India, equivalent to "hooch" or "bootleg" alcohol. Usually made from rice, it is sometimes mixed with industrial alcohol or methanol, which has resulted in several hundred deaths.
The Mumbai alcohol poisonings occurred in June 2015, when at least 102 people died after drinking contaminated alcohol in the Laxmi Nagar slum in Malad, located in Mumbai, India. Another 45 people were hospitalised as a result of the incident. The incident has been described as the worst of its kind in over a decade.
Alcohol prohibition in Tamil Nadu is governed by the State Prohibition and Excise department as per the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937. TASMAC, a state government-owned company, controls the wholesale and retail vending of alcoholic beverages in the State. On 24 May 2016, after her swearing-in, J. Jayalalitha announced the closing of 500 liquor shops and the reduction of the business hours of State-run liquor shops across the State. On 20 February 2017, the first office order signed by the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami was the closure of 500 liquor outlets owned by the public sector TASMAC. This is in addition to the 500 liquor outlets closed down by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in May 2016.
The 2016 Bihar alcohol poisonings killed 16 people on 16 August 2016 in Gopalganj town of Bihar, India. The victims had consumed hooch and complained of nausea and stomach ache.
The 2011 West Bengal alcohol poisonings killed 167 people in December 2011 in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal after consumption of spurious liquor mixed with methanol.
The Azamgarh alcohol poisonings resulted in the deaths of 39 people in the city of Azamgarh, in Uttar Pradesh, India, in October 2013, due to consumption of moonshine mixed with methanol. This incident is considered one of the worst alcohol poisonings in the state's history. Locals have disputed the official death toll, claiming that over 40 people died in the incident.
There have been at least two instances of poisonings due to consumption bootleg alcohol in West Bengal, India:
In February 2019, nearly 100 people died after drinking contaminated alcohol in two neighboring states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in northern India.
In February 2019, at least 168 people died after drinking toxic bootleg alcohol in Golaghat and Jorhat districts in the Indian state of Assam. The incident occurred two weeks after 100 people died by drinking toxic alcohol in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The 2020 Punjab alcohol poisoning was an incident in late July and early August 2020, where at least 100 people died after drinking illegally-made toxic alcohol in Punjab, India. Hundreds of raids were conducted in the three affected districts - Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran - along with several other places in and around the Rajpura and Shambhu border in Punjab. Forty people were arrested in relation to the incident. Seven excise officials, six policemen were also suspended over the incident.
On 25 July 2022, at least 42 people died and more than 97 were hospitalized in a methanol poisoning incident in Gujarat, India. The victims had consumed undiluted methyl alcohol (methanol), assuming it to be alcohol. The spurious liquor was then sold to more than 100 people in the villages of Ahmedabad, Botad and Surendranagar.
On 14 December 2022, an alcohol poisoning took place in Bihar, India. The poisoning resulted in the death of 73 people. The victims consumed hooch, that is qualitatively different from the standard alcoholic products. It is the highest death toll in Bihar, since liquor prohibition in state in 2016.
In November 2024, six people died from suspected methanol poisoning at a bar in Vang Vieng, Laos, as a result of consuming contaminated alcohol. At least six others were hospitalised.