Kallakurichi hooch tragedy: Death toll rises to 57

Hooch tragedy death toll rises to 57 in Kallakurichi district, with main supplier arrested by police.

The death toll in the hooch tragedy in Kallakurichi district rose to 57, with one more person losing his life on Sunday, June 23 night.

Also read: Kallakurichi hooch tragedy: Fermented with methanol and apathy

So far, 32 persons have died at the Government Kallakurichi Medical College and Hospital; 18 at the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital in Salem; four at the Government Villupuram Medical College and Hospital; and three at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) in Puducherry.

As many as 32 deaths were reported from Karunapuram, the epicentre of the tragedy followed by Kallakurichi, Madhavacheri and Seshasamudram.

A total of 156 persons, including five women and one transperson, are undergoing treatment in hospitals. As many as seven persons, including two women have been discharged so far.

Meanwhile, the police on Sunday, June 23, 2024, arrested Sivakumar, 30, suspected to be one of the main suppliers of methanol to the sellers of illicit liquor, even as the death toll in the hooch tragedy in Kallakurichirose to 56.

A central investigation unit of the Enforcement wing of the Tamil Nadu police nabbed Sivakumar, who was hiding in his sister’s house at Sulapallam in Chennai, in the early hours of Sunday. He was handed over to the CB-CID for further investigatio