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N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras
At least 21 persons have died, while 50 others are battling for their lives, after consuming spurious liquor in the Red Hills suburb of Madras, the police said on Saturday.
While some people were undergoing treatment in the government-run Stanley hospital in Madras, some others were admitted to the government-run General Hospital and other nursing homes nearby.
However, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Paneerselvam in a statement said only ten people had lost their lives.
He announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 25,000 each for the families of the dead and Rs 10,000 to the injured.
According to hospital sources, the spurious brew was allegedly mixed with some 'chemicals'. Blood samples of the victims had been sent for analysis.
The police have arrested three persons for selling illicit liquor, and have launched preliminary investigations.
This is the second hooch tragedy in the city in the past month, with 12 people succumbing to the killer brew in the Ambattur suburb, earlier.
A controversy, however, arose last time, after the local population challenged the police claims that the brew had been smuggled into the city from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh by a wedding party.
With hooch continuing to claim more lives in a state strapped of cash, the incumbent All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government may actively consider legitimising arrack sale, which would also boost the revenues in a big way.
As may be recalled, the then Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government legalised the sale of arrack, after the Panrutti hooch tragedy of 1989, which claimed over 40 lives.
With inputs from PTI
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