The death toll in the Malwani hooch tragedy in Mumbai has gone up to 35, while 20 people, some of them in critical condition, are undergoing treatment in hospitals.
The residents of Laxmi Nagar slum in Malwani in suburban Malad consumed the toxic alcohol on Wednesday evening. Their health started deteriorating later in the night. They were rushed to various hospitals after they started complaining of abdominal and chest pain.
"While 13 people died last night in the tragedy that struck on Wednesday, the casualty figure rose to 25 at 8 am today," PTI quoted Mumbai Police spokesperson Dhananjay Kulkarni as saying.
The Mumbai police have arrested three people identified as Raju Hanmanta Pascar, 50, Donald Robert Patel, 47 and Gautam Harte, 30, in connection with the incident.
They have been booked under Sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc. with intent to commit an offence) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
The police is investigating the case.
Akka, the woman who allegedly supplied the spurious liquor to the slum dwellers, is on the run while his accomplice Raju Langda is being questioned by the police. The woman was arrested by the State excise department in December last year, says The Hindu.
The spurious liquor is clandestinely brought to the city from Thane, Mumbai's neighbouring city, and is relatively cheaper than the government-made country liquor, according to a State excise department official, reports the daily.
On Thursday night, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a probe into the incident. He has directed the Mumbai Police Crime Branch to submit a report within two days.
