Deaths and hospitalizations reported in Bhavnagar spurious liquor case
At least four people have died and 18 others were hospitalized, eight of them in critical condition, after consuming spurious liquor in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district, according to police. The Indian Express reported that the liquor had been illegally brought from Madhya Pradesh and that four bootleggers had been detained. The victims had consumed duplicate liquor of a popular Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brand.
India TV News, however, reported a higher death toll of five and 20 people hospitalized, saying the incident occurred in Kharkhadi village of Ghogha taluka. The outlet described the case as "shocking" and said three patients were in extremely critical condition.
The first death was reported on Tuesday evening, another that night, and two others on Wednesday, according to The Indian Express. Bhavnagar District Collector Manish Kumar Bansal said the spurious liquor affected at least 22 people. He confirmed the deaths of Kartik Makwana (40), Upendra Gohil (25), and Ghanshyamsinh Jadeja (50), while the postmortem and toxicology reports of the fourth victim, Narendra Yadav, were awaited. All the deceased are from Bhavnagar district.
India TV News named two of the dead as Upendrasingh Gohil and Kanaksingh Gohil, saying they died during treatment.
Investigation and police response
Police have detained four bootleggers, and the main suspect, Gautam Solanki, is alleged to have brought the liquor and distributed it to other bootleggers in his network, Superintendent of Police Nitesh Pandey said, as reported by The Indian Express. According to India TV News, Solanki, along with associates Rais and Mukesh, allegedly adulterated the liquor with locally made country liquor at Solanki's house in the Ambliwadi area of Vartej. A raid at his residence seized more than 130 bottles, the outlet reported, and legal action was initiated against the three.
SP Pandey formed 16 police teams to apprehend the accused and trace the liquor consignment. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) is collecting evidence, and samples from bottles and medical samples from the bodies have been sent for examination to the FSL and the Directorate of Forensic Science (DFS), respectively. Police are in touch with Madhya Pradesh police probing the Ujjain-Indore-Guna belt for the source of the spurious liquor.
The State Monitoring Cell (SMC), which functions under the direct supervision of the state police chief with a mandate to curb liquor prohibition and gambling crimes, was deployed on Tuesday night. SMC chief SP Mayur Chavda reached Bhavnagar and met SP Pandey and IG R V Asari, as reported by The Indian Express. India TV News said the SMC team was sent on the directions of the Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister.
Medical response and condition of victims
The Indian Express reported that 18 people were admitted to five hospitals, including Sir Takhtasinhji General Hospital and four private hospitals. Of these, two remained critical, four were in the ICU, two were on ventilator support, and ten were stable. Senior government doctors were deputed at private hospitals, and a nephrologist team from IKDRC, Ahmedabad, was on the way, the collector said.
India TV News gave a slightly different breakdown, saying ten patients were admitted to Sir T Hospital in Bhavnagar and ten at hospitals in other districts.
In a video statement, Collector Bansal said the administration received information around 6 pm on Tuesday about a group of four people falling ill after consuming illicit liquor at a party in Kharkadi village on August 16. He added that one person from Surat was undergoing treatment, while a person from Jamnagar was asymptomatic. The same batch of spurious liquor was allegedly sold across at least two talukas — Ghogha and Bhavnagar.
The incident has occurred in Gujarat, a 'dry' state where the manufacturing, sale, and consumption of alcohol are banned. India TV News reported that the incident caused anger among families of the deceased and raised questions about enforcement of Gujarat's prohibition policy.