Toxic homemade alcohol kills at least 94 in Mumbai slum

Toxic homemade liquor has killed at least 94 slum dwellers in India’s financial capital Mumbai, with more than 45 in hospital, police said on Sunday, in the latest disaster involving moonshine. Police have arrested five people in connection with the deaths in a western neighbourhood of the city, on the west coast of India, which started on Wednesday. Eight police officers have also been suspended for negligence of duty, according to local media.

More than 150 have consumed this alcohol. The death toll may rise.

Dhananjay Kulkarni, Mumbai’s deputy police commissioner

The people reportedly fell sick after drinking the poisonous brew on Wednesday, with at least 41 people dying on the following two days. India often sees deaths from illegally-brewed alcohol as many people cannot afford to buy the legal version. The illicit booze often contains chemicals such as pesticides to increase its strength. More than 140 people were killed in West Bengal state, in eastern India, in 2011 from drinking homemade liquor.

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