Kallakurichi: The streets of Karunapuram in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district are lined with shamiyanas, with people in almost every other house mourning the death of their family members. At least 47 people in the area have died after consuming spurious liquor, with 135 still undergoing treatment in government hospitals in Kallakurichi, Viluppuram, Salem and Puducherry.
Local residents say the sale of illicit liquor has plagued the locality for decades and has allegedly gone unchecked by the police.
Of those who died, at least five were women. At least five children below the age of 15 in Karunapuram have lost a parent.
The remains of Subramani, one of the victims of the hooch tragedy, lie in a casket outside his house.
Ponnuthaiye, one of his relatives, said, “He first complained of eye irritation. Later, he began to scream with discomfort in his chest and severe stomach pain. That’s when we rushed him to the hospital. However, he never said he had drunk alcohol. It was only after he died that we found out he had consumed illicit arrack.”
Most of those affected were daily wage workers, primarily from the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.
Anjulakshmi, resident of Kattu Naicker street, said, “With the Rs 200 or Rs 300 they used to earn daily, they could not afford the alcohol sold at government TASMAC shops. The illicit arrack sold here is cheap, costing only about Rs 60 and sometimes Rs 70.”
Kala, who has lost both parents, said that the sale of illicit liquor in Karunapuram has gone on for generations. “It isn’t something new and it happens right under the nose of the police. Some 20 years ago, around eight people died after consuming this same arrack in the locality,” said Kala.
The state government suspended 11 policemen in Kallakurichi, including the Superintendent of Police (SP) Samay Singh Meena, Wednesday and transferred the case to CB-CID (Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department).
The new SP, Rajat Chaturvedi, told ThePrint, “If the policemen are found to be working hand in glove with the hooch sellers, appropriate action will be taken.”
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has formed a one-man commission consisting of retired High Court judge B. Gokuldas for suggestions on curbing sale of illicit arrack in the state. The state government has also ordered Home Secretary P. Amudha and Director General of Police Shankar Jiwal to visit Kallakurichi and submit a report.
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Reluctance to get treatment
Unlike Subramani, who was at home when he fainted, his 45-year-old neighbour Ramesh was rushed to the hospital from his workplace, his relative Anjulakshmi told ThePrint. Ramesh died without responding to the treatment.
Ramesh was a daily wage worker. He was unmarried and the sole breadwinner of his family, which included his visually impaired mother.
Anjulakshmi said, “Ramesh was the first to die. He had a packet of arrack in his pocket. That’s how the hospital authorities figured that he had consumed it.”
Alerted by Ramesh’s death, Kallakurichi municipal authorities raised an alarm in Karunapuram, asking those who had consumed arrack to seek treatment at a hospital as soon as possible.
Another local Nagamma recalled, “I did not know my friend Lakshmi and her husband Ravi were drunk. When everyone was out on the street running to and fro, they didn’t come out. When I asked them, they both denied having consumed liquor. I still forced them to go to the hospital. They were fine when they left, but both of them eventually died.”
At least a dozen people reportedly died even before they made it to hospitals.
Dhanakodi, 60, and her son-in-law, 35, were among those who resisted going to the hospital, despite being aware of the deaths happening.
Her neighbour, Yezhumalai, told ThePrint, “Dhanakodi was not even taken to the hospital. By the time we went to check on her, she was already dead. Those on the streets had knocked on every door to ask people to get themselves treated. Dhanakodi denied having consumed any arrack.”
According to the villagers, those who died had been consuming spurious alcohol for a long time and wouldn’t have believed that it could harm them.
Malar, wife of Ezhumalai, who is undergoing treatment in Salem, said, “He confessed that he had the liquor, but he was so confident nothing would happen. He has been drinking it since the age of 20. He is 35 now.”
‘An old problem’
Kala, Lakshmi’s elder daughter, claimed that illicit arrack has been sold in and around Kallakurichi for several years.
“It is rampant here. If you go to a pond just a couple of kilometres from here, you can get this illicit liquor anytime. I have known about this since my childhood. It may have been going on for even longer than that,” 37-year-old Kala told ThePrint.
She was always aware of her parents’ habit of drinking the cheap liquor, but was never able to stop them. “I never had a say. Whenever I would warn them, they wouldn’t listen. We don’t care about the compensation from the government, but at least now they should curb the problem,” she added.
According to Nagamma and Anjulakshmi, the illicit arrack is brewed on the Kalvarayan hills — an “open secret” for the people of Karunapuram.
“Nobody in the village would believe it if the police said that they didn’t know about it. Even the school-going children on the street know where the arrack is sold,” said Nagamma.
The area is located right behind the Kallakurichi Town police station.
ThePrint also visited the pond where the hooch is allegedly sold and found packets of the liquor strewn around its edges. A resident of Medical College Road, who wished to not be named, confirmed that arrack was being sold until the news of the deaths spread across the village, after which the sellers tried to flee.
Four persons have been arrested in connection with the case so far.
The Tamil Nadu government has also announced a solatium of Rs 10 lakh to the family members of those who died, and Rs 50,000 to those undergoing treatment.
Ministers Udhayanidhi Stalin, E.V. Velu and Ma Subramaniam visited the bereaved families. Speaking to the reporters, Velu said that everyone involved in the brewing and sale would be brought to book, even if it involved DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) MLAs.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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