Assam hooch tragedy toll 98, counting : The Tribune India

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Assam hooch tragedy toll 98, counting

GUWAHATI:The toll in the Assam hooch tragedy has risen to 98, the state government said here on Saturday.

Assam hooch tragedy toll 98, counting

In despair: Kin of the victims at a Golaghat hospital on Saturday. PTI



Guwahati, February 23 

The toll in the Assam hooch tragedy has risen to 98, the state government said here on Saturday. 

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said this in a WhatsApp message after visiting the Golaghat Civil Hospital and Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH).

Of the 272 admitted to the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, 51 have died. At Golaghat Civil Hospital, 20 people were brought dead, while 27 others died in the hospital. The toll is likely to increase as many deaths from remote villages have not been reported yet, Sarma added.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal met the affected at JMCH and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those who fell ill. He said the guilty will not be spared, even as the opposition Congress  accused the BJP government of not taking adequate steps to stop the sale of illicit liquor and demanded the resignation of state Excise Minister.

The police said 12 persons have been detained in Golaghat for interrogation. Two persons were arrested in connection on Friday.

Labourers of two tea estates of Golaghat and Jorhat districts had fallen ill after drinking the spurious liquor on Thursday night and 12 of them had died the same night. Sonowal had ordered a probe into the incident by Upper Assam Division Commissioner Julie Sonowal and directed her to submit the report within a month. 

The CM instructed DCs and SPs of both Jorhat and Golaghat districts to make all necessary arrangements for providing relief to the affected families. He also ordered a ban on the sale of illegal liquor. — Agencies 

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