Photo: Mousyomit / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Ujjain divisional administration on Saturday evening ordered an inquiry into a string of deaths in two villages of Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district, where families say at least 13 people died after drinking liquor between September 27 and October 16. The Dewas district administration has rejected the claim that spurious liquor was to blame.
What families say happened
According to local reports that first brought the deaths to light, nine people died in Chandana village and four in neighbouring Binjana during that period. Most of them were labourers. Relatives and villagers say the victims vomited, felt dizzy and frothed at the mouth after drinking, and some survivors complained that their eyesight had weakened.
Villagers told reporters that four men from Chandana drank together on October 15 and that all four died the following day. A former village head said at least three people had lost their vision and two others were being treated in hospitals. The father of one victim said his son collapsed and had foam coming from his mouth, and that he had told officials the death was caused by alcohol.
Administration calls the claims misleading
In a statement issued late on Friday, the district administration described the reports as misleading. It said the liquor seized during its checks came from licensed shops, that chemical tests and the available post-mortem reports had not shown any poison, and that no one had been admitted to a hospital or health centre in or around the district with poisoning or loss of vision linked to liquor. Officials attributed the deaths to routine illnesses, old age, brain haemorrhage and heavy drinking.
The officer holding charge as Collector told reporters that viscera samples from the deceased had been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, and that the excise department was collecting liquor samples from the area. He said legal action would follow if the laboratory confirmed that the liquor was spurious.
Five-member panel to report in 15 days
Hours after a Congress delegation visited Chandana, the Ujjain Divisional Commissioner set up a five-member team headed by Ujjain’s Additional Collector to examine the causes and circumstances of the deaths over the past month. All its members are from outside Dewas: an Additional Superintendent of Police from Mandsaur, a police sub-divisional officer from Ratlam, the deputy excise commissioner of Ujjain division and the regional health director. The order gives the panel 15 days to submit its findings.
Opposition alleges a cover-up
State Congress president Jitu Patwari, who visited the village with former Union minister Arun Yadav, claimed that around 22 people had died in Chandana and nearby villages and that 35 to 40 had suffered damage to their vision. He accused the government of protecting the liquor mafia and demanded the Collector’s removal.
If there was something wrong with the water, why did only those who consumed liquor die?
Jitu Patwari, Madhya Pradesh Congress president
Why it matters
The allegations come weeks after more than 25 people died in Sagar district in September after drinking counterfeit liquor sold under the name of a popular brand. Morena saw a similar tragedy in 2021. The forensic reports and the panel’s findings, due by early November, are expected to settle whether Dewas is another such case and who, if anyone, will be held responsible.
