Two people died and four others were hospitalised after they consumed liquor in Dehgam in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar district on Monday, police said.
The state has been dry since its formation in 1960.
According to the primary information received by the police, the victims’ bodies were sent for post-mortem by the police.
Gandhinagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Ravi Teja Vasamsetty said a forensic report revealed that methyl alcohol was not present in the liquor which the victims drank, implying that it was not poisonous alcohol.
The police said the victims purchased liquor from a local liquor smuggler in Lihoda village. According to the village sarpanch, this was not the first incident in which someone died in the village due to consuming liquor.
An investigation was on to know how the victims died, but experts said consuming liquor on an empty stomach can be fatal.
Congress leader Amit Chavda hit out at the ruling BJP government and alleged that such incidents were happening due to the failure of the police and government to keep a check on the alleged liquor mafia.
He said people were losing their lives as liquor was available everywhere despite Gujarat being a dry state.
“This incident is due to the failure of the police and the government. Liquor and drugs are available in Gujarat in such a way that we are moving in the direction of Udta Gujarat like Udta Punjab,” Chavda said while referring to the Bollywood film.
The state government did not issue an official statement on the matter at the time of publishing this story.