Howrah [India], July 20 (HornbillTV): As many as seven people died on Wednesday morning in the Ghusuri area of Howrah district of West Bengal, after allegedly drinking spurious liquor at an illicit hooch joint.

Six more people have been admitted to a nearby hospital and several of them are in critical condition.

Speaking to ANI in this regard, Howrah Police Commissioner Praveen Kumar Tripathi said, “As many as seven people died and several others fell ill today morning. Prima facie, it appears that the incident happened after consuming illegal liquor in Howrah.”

“Six people are under medical treatment in a hospital. The exact cause of death can be ascertained after post-mortem,” said the police official.

The police are ascertaining the exact cause of the incident.

Further probe into the matter is underway.

Last week, the death of four persons allegedly due to the consumption of spurious liquor in West Bengal’s Bardhaman district, triggered panic among the people. While the police maintained that they were awaiting details of the postmortem, raids were held at several hotels and eateries in the town.

Sadly, this was not the first such incident reported in the State. More than 140 people were killed at Sangrampur in South 24 Parganas in December 2011 after drinking illicit liquor. In November 2018, at least seven persons died at Santipur in Nadia.