Moonshine claims 36 lives in India

At least 36 people died and more than 60 were being treated in hospitals after consuming moonshine in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a government spokesperson said yesterday.

Since Wednesday over 100 people, suffering from vomiting, stomach ache and diarrhoea, have needed hospital treatment in the Kallakurichi district, 250km by road from the state capital Chennai, the spokesperson said.

The state government said it had taken disciplinary action against at least 10 officials, including the district's chief administrator and its police chief.

"I was shocked and saddened to hear the news ... Action has also been taken against the officials who failed to prevent it," Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said in a post on X.

Police arrested four people over the sale of the item and seized 200 litres of the methanol-mixed drink, the state government said.

Deaths from moonshine are a regular occurrence in India.

The Tamil Nadu government said it was also taking steps to identify people involved in the production of methanol - a toxic chemical normally used for industrial purposes.

A video from ANI showed healthcare officials carrying patients in ambulances into a hospital while another shot showed several people standing outside a mortuary in Kallakurichi.

More than a dozen people died last year in a similar incident in a nearby district of Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami demanded the resignation of the chief minister in the wake of the Kallakurichi tragedy.

Palaniswami alleged the involvement of DMK functionaries in the incident.

He questioned the effectiveness of past investigations into similar incident in Villupuram and Chengalpet districts last year.

BJP state president K Annamalai reiterated his demand to sack prohibition and excise minister S Muthusamy from the cabinet.