Death toll in India from toxic liquor rises to 42

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

11 years ago

Indian woman Poonam, whose two relatives died after drinking toxic bootleg liquor, wails at Atardiha village in Azamgarh district, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of Lucknow, India, Sunday, Oct.20, 2013. Dozens of people died and some 40 people are being treated in hospitals after drinking the toxic drink in Uttar Pradesh state, police said. Deaths from drinking illegally brewed alcohol are common in India because the poor cannot afford licensed liquor. Illicit liquor is often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase potency.(AP Photo/ Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Indian woman Poonam, left, whose two relatives died after drinking toxic bootleg liquor, wails at Atardiha village in Azamgarh district, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of Lucknow, India, Sunday, Oct.20, 2013. Dozens of people died and some 40 people are being treated in hospitals after drinking the toxic drink in Uttar Pradesh state, police said. Deaths from drinking illegally brewed alcohol are common in India because the poor cannot afford licensed liquor. Illicit liquor is often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase potency. (AP Photo/ Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Indians receive treatment after falling ill from consuming tainted liquor, at a hospital in Azamgarh, India, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. A batch of toxic bootleg liquor killed at least 32 people, mostly poor laborers, and sickened dozens more in northern India, police said Saturday. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

LUCKNOW, India — Another 10 people have died in hospitals after drinking toxic bootleg liquor in northern India, police said Sunday, raising the death toll to 42 in the past three days.

Some 40 people are being treated in hospitals in Uttar Pradesh state, said District Magistrate Neena Sharma.

Police arrested 32 people for illegally brewing and selling the toxic drink to the villagers, who were celebrating the Hindu “Dussehra” festival in Azamgarh district last week, Sharma said. The region is 185 miles southeast of Lucknow, the state capital.

Deaths from drinking illegally brewed alcohol are common in India because the poor cannot afford licensed liquor. Illicit liquor is often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase potency.