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In India, the consumption of an adulterated artisanal alcohol has made nearly a hundred deaths in recent days in a northern region of the country. Several hundred people who consumed the toxic drink were also hospitalized while a large police operation is underway to find the guilty. Incidents of alcohol poisoning are recurrent in India, but such a record has rarely been achieved in the past.
With our correspondent in New Delhi, Antoine Guinard
The victims and their families claim that the adulterated alcohol was sold in plastic bags for a few tens of pennies, during weddings and religious festivities in recent days in the Haridwar region, 200 km north of New Delhi.
In four days, this ultra-toxic artisanal concoction has caused unprecedented havoc causing an uproar in the state of Uttar Pradesh. At the regional assembly, the opposition seized the case and demanded Monday the resignation of the head of the government of the region.
As early as Sunday night, a special investigation was opened by the government of Uttar Pradesh and the police have already made more than 3,000 arrests. According to the Indian press, no less than 79,000 liters of this adulterated alcohol were also confiscated by the police.
The consumption of artisanal alcohol, often methyl or stuffed with toxic products, is widespread in India , particularly in rural areas. However, we must go back 10 years to find an incident with such dramatic consequences: in 2009, 136 people died after consuming adulterated alcohol in the state of Gujarat, a region where alcohol consumption is prohibited.