At least 25 people have died after drinking toxic alcohol in northern India, police say.
“So far, 25 people have died and some others have been taken to hospital and are receiving care. “Ten people have been arrested,” Ayab Singh, a police spokesman, told AFP.
According to local media, the alcohol was bought on Thursday from a shop of two brothers.
Alcohol stores in the state of Uttar Pradesh were closed as part of the quarantine imposed in the fight against the new coronavirus. But at a time when the number of infections has begun to decline, Uttar Pradesh re-authorized the sale of alcohol in some areas on May 11, with limited opening hours.
The manner in which the alcohol, which caused the poisoning, was produced has not been determined. But hundreds of people die every year in India from alcohol brewed in illegal distilleries, to which even the poorest have access.
Of the five billion liters of alcohol consumed each year in the country, about 40% is produced illegally, according to the International Alcoholic Beverages and Wine Association of India.
