At least 21 people died and more than two dozen were hospitalized after drinking illegally-brewed poisonous alcohol in northern India, police said Sunday.
Villagers, mostly poor farmers and workers, fell ill after drinking the alcohol on Friday night.
"Many of those who drank the liquor started vomiting and complained of severe abdominal pain before collapsing," police official Atul Kumar said by phone from Etah.
"The first deaths were reported by Saturday evening. Three to four people have been blinded by the tainted drink," Kumar said.
Several among 25 people admitted to the hospital were in serious condition and the death toll could rise further.
A local vendor had been arrested and faces charges of culpable homicide, he added. Three district officials and seven policemen were suspended for neglect of duties as state authorities ordered a probe in the matter.
The illegal liquor trade thrives in India, because it is much cheaper than commercially produced alcohol. Last year, more than 100 people died after consuming toxic liquor in Mumbai.
DPA
