6 die after drinking illicit liquor in two Gujarat districts

Ahmedabad, July 25 (IANS) At least six persons have died in Ahmedabad and Botad districts of Gujarat after drinking illicit liquor, officials said on Monday.

In both districts at least 14 to 20 persons fell ill after drinking the liquor.

Ahmedabad Range Inspector General V. Chandrashekhar told the media. "Four dead bodies were brought from Dhandhuka Taluka at the government hospital, four other persons are under treatment, their condition is stable."

The officer further said, "Two bodies were disposed of in the morning and two were sent for the post-mortem and only after the report comes, the police will be able to know whether they died because of any chemical or any other reasons."

But, the family members told the police that the deceased and those under treatment had drunk country liquor on Sunday night.

In Botad district, two patients were admitted to the hospital. Arti Parma's husband Vashram was rushed to the hospital on Monday morning after he complained of vision loss and vomiting. According to her, Vashram and 10 others from the Rojida village had drunk country liquor and most of them had fallen ill.

Bhavnagar Range Inspector General Ashok Kumar Yadav rushed to Botad. A medical team from the Bhavnagar district hospital has also been rushed to Botad hospital, said sources.

Despite a ban on the sale and manufacturing of liquor in Gujarat, country-made and IMFL liquor is easily available in the state.