look news india
Kohima/Dimapur. A heart-wrenching tragedy has come to light from Nagaland, the prohibition state in the North-East. At least 19 people have lost their lives in the state after allegedly consuming poisonous and adulterated liquor, while the condition of several other victims remains critical. The victims have been hurriedly admitted to nearby hospitals, where doctors are struggling to save their lives. As soon as the news of this tragic incident spread, there was panic in the state administration, excise department and police department.
A complete ban on the sale and manufacture of liquor is in force in Nagaland under the ‘Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition’ (NLTP) Act. In such a situation, the death of such a large number of people has exposed the underground network of illicit liquor running in the state and cross-border smuggling. Reviewing the law and order situation immediately after the incident, the police launched a statewide intensive raid operation, under which more than 3,000 illicit liquor bottles have been recovered so far.
According to information received from hospital sources and the local administration, the victims had purchased liquor from a local bootleg. Within a few hours of drinking it, people had to face serious physical problems.
-
Symptoms and rapidly worsening condition: The victims complained of unbearable stomach pain, severe headache, continuous vomiting and severe difficulty in breathing. Some victims reported their eyesight becoming blurry and completely gone before they even reached the hospital.
-
Chaos in the hospital: When their condition worsened, their family members took them to local health centers and the district hospital, where despite all the efforts of the doctors, 19 people died.
-
Suspicion of methyl alcohol: The primary estimate of doctors and forensic experts is that in order to make the liquor highly intoxicating, it was heavily adulterated with poisonous ‘Methyl Alcohol’ (Metalol), which is used as an industrial solvent, which causes the internal organs of the body to fail within a few hours.
Considering the seriousness of the incident, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed on the instructions of the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Home Department. Police conducted rapid raids on border areas and illegal liquor dens:
-
Huge consignment recovered: During the raid, a total of 3,000 bottles of illegal and spurious liquor were seized from various secret warehouses, dhabas and illegal dens.
-
Action on illegal distilleries and networks: Police have sealed the places where substandard liquor was being bottled with fake labels. Apart from this, the crackdown on the syndicate involved in illegal smuggling of liquor from Assam and surrounding border areas has been started.
-
Several suspects in custody: The police have registered a case under various sections of the Culpable Murder, Adulteration and Prohibition Act (NLTP Act) and have detained several liquor mafias and local vendors and started questioning them.
Complete prohibition has been in force in Nagaland since 1989, but this latest tragedy has once again sparked a heated debate on the ground reality of prohibition:
-
Emergence of parallel black market: Civil society organisations, doctors and local intellectuals say that despite a complete ban, liquor smuggled from neighboring states or locally produced poisonous liquor is easily available in the state.
-
Lack of quality control: Due to ban, there is no quality check of liquor, due to which anti-social elements sell fake liquor by mixing chemicals for more profit and the poor and labor class become its first victims.
-
Demand for review of law: After this accident, the debate has intensified among political parties and social organizations in the state whether the strict prohibition law should be continued or a practical solution should be found with strict rules and monitoring.
The state health department has directed all district chief medical officers (CMOs) to be on high alert so that antidotes and ventilator support can be provided immediately in case of any new case of alcohol poisoning.
The administration has made public announcements and appealed to the local people not to consume liquor purchased from any dubious or illegal source. If a person has recently consumed such alcohol and is complaining of blurred vision or restlessness, he should immediately contact the nearest hospital without wasting time.