Another alleged hooch tragedy claimed over 10 lives in Madhya Pradesh district; the administration denies

The Congress on Saturday (Sat 24, 2026) accused the Madhya Pradesh government of protecting the liquor mafia after the Dewas district administration rejected claims by residents of two villages that at least 10 people had died there in the last few weeks due to consumption of spurious liquor.

Residents of Chandana and Binjana villages in Dewas claimed to have lost several members to spurious liquor, with many having damaged eyesight. State Congress President Jitu Patwari also visited the village.

The matter came to light after a local Hindi daily reported that nine people had died in Chandana and four in Binjana since September 27, after which Mr. Patwari visited the affected families.

However, Mr. Patwari claimed that around 22 people have died in Chandana and nearby villages so far.

“Recently in Sagar district (in September) and earlier in Morena (in 2021), people were dying due to poisonous alcohol but the government did not learn its lesson. After talking to people, about 22 deaths were verified in Chandana and nearby Dewas villages due to fake alcohol. At least 35-40 people had their visions affected,” Mr. Patwari told reporters.

He said he spoke to collector-in-charge Dalip Kumar, who told him that “it has not yet been ascertained whether the water is poisonous or liquor”.

Drinking to Death: On Illegal Alcohol Cases

“But the families say that these people died or damaged their eyesight only after consuming alcohol. If there was something wrong with the water, why did only those who drank alcohol die? Despite this, if the administration tried to hide it, then there can be no greater sin,” Patwari said.

“That means the government wants to protect the liquor mafia that sells poisonous liquor and kills people. What did the police do when counterfeit liquor was being sold in the area?” he claimed and demanded the removal of the District Collector.

Highlighting the mass deaths in various tragedies in Madhya Pradesh in the past year such as Indore, Chhindwara and Balaghat, the Congress leader said the state had become the “biggest den of mass deaths”.

However, the district administration has denied that the deaths were caused by alcohol, attributing them to regular illnesses and overdosing on legal alcohol.

In a fact-checking statement late on Friday (Oct. 23, 2026), the administration said that no case of a person being admitted to any hospital due to adulterated alcohol has been reported in the district.

“The alcohol seized during the investigation came from licensed shops and chemical tests and autopsies did not confirm the presence of poison. No patient was admitted to any health center or hospital in the district or nearby for cases of consumption of poisonous alcohol, visual impairment or poisoning,” local news reported as “misleading.”

Mr. Kumar, the Municipal Commissioner of Dewas, who is currently the Collector-in-Charge, told reporters that the viscera samples of the deceased who underwent post-mortem have been sent for forensic testing to ascertain the causes of death.

“Any legal action will be taken if the FSL reports confirm that the liquor consumed by the deceased was fake. The excise department is also collecting samples of liquor bottles from the area to conduct tests,” he said, adding that action would be taken against those responsible if the test reports confirmed poisonous material in the liquor.

Meanwhile, Kavita Parmar, wife of the late Rahul Parmar, said, “He died after consuming alcohol. He consumed alcohol and then died. He drank only a little. He never experienced chest pain or vomiting before but this time he did. The liquor store here should be closed. What happened to me should not happen to anyone else.”

His father, Ram Chandra Parmar, said his son was also “foaming at the mouth” after collapsing due to dizziness. “When some officials came and asked me about his death, I told them that my son died only because of alcohol,” he told the news agency.

Taking cognizance of the intelligence reports, Ujjain Divisional Commissioner Asheesh Singh constituted an inquiry committee late on Saturday (October 24, 2026) to probe the alleged deaths in Chandana and Binjana villages in the last one month.

A five-member panel headed by Ujjain Additional Collector Pratham Kaushik has been asked to conduct a detailed inquiry into the cause of death, circumstances and other facts and submit its report within 15 days.

The panel includes all officials outside the Dewas, including an additional superintendent of police, a sub-divisional magistrate and one senior official from the excise and health departments.

In early September, more than 25 people died in Banda and Shahgarh sub-districts of Sagar district after consuming counterfeit liquor manufactured under the name of a popular brand in the region.

Published – 25 Oct 2026 02:30 IST