BOOTLEG HORROR

Liquor Spiked with Mystery Chemical Kills 21 and Leaves 30 Sick

Authorities have arrested several suspected illegal brewers in connection with the deadly drink.

At least 21 people were killed and another 30 got sick after drinking alcohol adulterated with an unknown chemical in western India, local authorities said Tuesday. The spiked liquor deaths took place in the Ahmedabad and Botad districts of Gujarat state, where the manufacture and consumption of alcohol is prohibited. Cops have detained several people suspected of being the bootleggers behind the deadly brew, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. The dangers posed by illegally brewed alcohol are extreme in India, where unscrupulous brewers will add chemicals including pesticides to their concoctions to increase potency. In 2020 alone, at least 120 people were known to have lost their lives after drinking contaminated illegal liquor in the northern state of Punjab.