Nine people have been hospitalized after developed uneasiness by consumption of liquor while 5 lost their lives
Five people of Chellankavu tribal colony at Kanjikode, Kerala died due to consumption of spurious liquor. According to the Walayar police, the deceased were identified as Raman (52), Ayyappan (55), his son Arun (22), Sivan (45) and his brother, Moorthy (33).
“Raman died on Sunday morning and according to the tribal tradition during the funeral function, others have consumed the liquor. As per our preliminary probe, all death caused due to suspected consumption of spurious liquor. We are awaiting a chemical report to find the exact cause of the deaths,” Said the Walayar police.
Among the dead, Raman passed away on Sunday morning while Ayyappan died by evening. Sivan was found dead on a cot in front of his house on Monday morning, Moorthy left the hospital without permission and was later found dead in front of a shop at stadium bus stand in Palakkad.
The bodies of Ayyappan and Raman were buried in the compound of their houses assuming that theirs were natural deaths. Later, the bodies were exhumed and subjected to post-mortem at the district hospital.
Besides, nine people including three women have been hospitalised after they developed uneasiness. They are Nagarajan (26), Thankamani (47), Rukmini (52), Kamalam (42), Chellappan (75), Sakthivel, Kumaran (35) and Murukan (30).
Those remaining in hospital told the police that it was Sivan who brought the drink to the colony. The colourless liquid smelled and tasted liked soap, they said. Police are also not ruling out the possibility of sanitizer being mixed in liquor.
Though the police raided Sivan’s house and premises, only some empty bottles were found. Forensic experts examined the premises. More information would be available only after receiving the postmortem report as the police is still investigating the case, police said.
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