Deaths in Chhattisgarh village since Feb 5 reach 8; liquor bottles, food samples collected

Bilaspur: The number of deaths in a village in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district since February 5 reached eight after a person died in hospital on Sunday, an official said.

Efforts are on to determine the cause of deaths, which have occurred in Lofandi village under Koni police station limits, with authorities collecting samples of food, liquor and empty liquor bottles for analysis during the day, he informed.

The sarpanch of the village claimed nine persons, who were addicted to alcohol, have died so far, while some residents and the opposition Congress alleged these were caused due to consumption of illicit liquor.

The BJP government in the state was trying to cover up the incident, they added.

"Pavan Kashyap (35), who was admitted on Saturday to Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) Bilaspur, died during treatment this morning. Two residents are in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the CIMS, while one person has been shifted to Ambedkar Memorial Hospital in Raipur in a critical condition," an official said.

Kashyap's brother Vimal said these persons died due to consumption of liquor made locally from mahua flowers.

He said talk of these persons falling ill after a community feast was wrong.

"The administration is trying to cover up. The case has nothing to do with the feast. It was attended by 400 persons, but only a few persons were affected," Vimal claimed.

A police official said empty alcohol bottles have been seized, while three persons have been detained for allegedly selling illegal liquor and their questioning is underway.

The food safety department has collected samples of food items for testing from the house where the community feast was held, he said.

After learning about the deaths in Lofandi village, a team of administration and police officials visited the area on Saturday.

The district administration said two villagers died in the village on February 5. The Koni police registered a case concerning one of the two deaths, with his son attributing it to snakebite. Five more villagers died on February 7-8.

The official said the last rites of the deceased except one Ramuram Sunhale had been carried out without informing authorities.

"Sunhale's body was sent to Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) Bilaspur for post-mortem. As per the preliminary PM report, no specific cause of death could be ascertained. Confirmation on cause of death can be established after arrival of viscera, histopathology and blood analysis reports," an official release said.

"Villagers said a marriage ceremony was held between February 3 and 6 after which several people took part in a community feast. Those who died had complained of pain in the abdomen, vomiting and dizziness. A few of them were reported to be already ill," the statement added.

The opposition Congress alleged eight villagers died in Lofandi after consuming spurious liquor.

The party blamed the ruling BJP for the deaths.