10 more people die from drinking toxic liquor in Mumbai

Mourners of the men who died from drinking toxic liquor. — (Image credit: Twitter.com/TheQuint)

On Saturday, 10 men died in Mumbai after drinking tainted liquor, while 40 were hospitalized, 15 of them in critical condition.

The death toll from this lot of contaminated liquor is now at 94, the highest number since 2004, when 104 people died after consuming toxic liquor in the Vikhroli area of Mumbai. The men died three days after drinking the tainted beverage, The Associated Press reports; deaths from alcohol that is brewed illegally are common, since people who cannot afford regulated liquor drink the illicit kind, which is often laced with chemicals like pesticides to make it stronger.

Devendra Fadnavis, the top elected official of Maharashtra state, has ordered an investigation into the cause of the deaths, and police have collected samples of the liquor for testing. Eight officers and constables at the Malwani police station have been suspended on charges of connivance and negligence, but authorities did not release any further details on the charges.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.