Aug 21, 2024 07:09 PM IST
At least 17 people from the Chikiti area were admitted to different hospitals in Ganjam on Monday after allegedly drinking country liquor sold near Moundpur, said officials
Bhubaneshwar: A 60-year-old man and a 34-year-old man were killed allegedly after consuming spurious liquor in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Wednesday morning, officials aware of the matter said.
At least 17 people from the Chikiti area were admitted to different hospitals in Ganjam on Monday after allegedly drinking country liquor sold near Moundpur, said officials.
Officials said that while of the 17 succumbed on Wednesday, the condition of two others remains critical, and they have been kept under observation in the ICU.
Family members of the victims claimed that the liquor was illicitly brewed in a forest near Bhalughai and sold in the nearby areas.
Ganjam district collector Dibyajyoti Parida, who visited the patients, said that the liquor is likely to have been laced with some spurious substances.
State excise commissioner Narasingha Bhol, who visited the affected area, said liquor samples have been collected for laboratory testing.
“A joint action team comprising police and excise officials will be formed to intensify raids on illegal liquor operations in the district,” Bhol said, adding that they have arrested seven people and seized about 55 litres of country liquor.
Meanwhile, the state legislative assembly was adjourned twice on Wednesday, with opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLAs rushing to the well of the House, demanding a Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) probe into the hooch incident.
The BJD leaders said it will send a fact-finding team that will visit Chikiti and submit a report to Naveen Patnaik.
