TN hooch tragedy toll rises to 53; BJP holds protests, blames govt

Kallakurichi (tn), June 22

The death toll in the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy rose to 53 on Saturday even as the administration said the condition of 140 people was currently stable.

About 140 persons out of 193 who were admitted to various government medical facilities after they consumed spurious liquor on Tuesday night were currently stable, Kallakurichi district collector MS Prasanth said.

“So far 53 persons have passed away. Seven have been arrested in connection with the spurious liquor tragedy,” he said after visiting victims at a government hospital in Kallakurich.

Meanwhile, the police detained a large number of BJP members, including senior leader H Raja, in various parts of the state when they staged protests against the ruling DMK over the tragedy on Saturday.

The state-wide protests were meant to condemn the DMK government for allegedly failing to contain the illicit arrack. Scores of BJP members led by Raja who proceeded to stage a protest in Madurai were detained. Raja said, “It was DMK leader and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi who lifted the prohibition ban in Tamil Nadu and paved the way for arrack to permeate the state,”

The tragedy also echoed for the second consecutive day in the Tamil Nadu Assembly with the main opposition party AIADMK staging a walkout over the matter. The DMK hit out at the AIADMK for attempting to do politics over the painful issue and dismissed the plea for a CBI inquiry saying “the government is transparent”.