The death toll in the Kallakurichi illicit liquor tragedy has increased to 53, as per the official bulletin issued on Saturday, June 22. The bulletin issued at 7.30 am, says that while 29 people died in the Kallakurichi Government Hospital, 17 deaths were reported in Salem Government Hospital, four deaths in Villupuram Government Hospital, and three deaths in Pondicherry JIPMER hospital.
A total of 193 patients from Karunapuram and neighbouring villages have been admitted after consuming the country-made arrack. Among them 140 of them are in-patients.
Amid the increasing number of deaths, the health department on Friday, June 21, had initiated a door-to-door survey to identify people who consumed the illicit liquor by checking for symptoms.
On June 21, the AIADMK legislators clad in black shirts staged a sit-in-protest in the Assembly over the tragedy demanding CM MK Stalin’s resignation. They were subsequently evicted from the House. While Speaker M Appavu directed that the AIADMK MLAs could not attend the House for the rest of the day, CM MK Stalin requested the Speaker to allow them to raise the issue after the Question Hour.
Speaking to the media, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said that even in March 2023, the Opposition party had submitted a call attention to the Speaker to discuss the prevalence of ganja and illicit liquor in areas including Kallakurichi, which was not accepted according to him.
Meanwhile, the district court on June 21 sent the three accused – Kannukutty (Govindaraj), Vijaya, and Dhamodharan – to 14-day-judicial custody. They have been taken to Cuddalore prison.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered after the family of one of the victims on Wednesday, June 19, filed a complaint against Kannukutty (Govindaraj), his wife Vijaya and his brother Dhamodharan alleging that they sold illicit liquor to the people of Karunapuram village in Kallakurichi district, at around 7pm on Tuesday, June 18. After consuming the illicit liquor which contained methanol, a potent substance that can cause serious illnesses and death, several people began complaining of stomach pain, eye irritation, and eventually died.
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Kannukutty, Vijaya and Dhamodharan have been booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 304(2) (Punishable for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act sections 4(1)(i), 4(1-A) (Prohibition of the manufacture of, traffic in, and consumption of, liquor and intoxicating drugs and Punishment for manufacture of, traffic in, and consumption of, liquor and intoxicating drugs).
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The case has been transferred to CB-CID. According to media reports, at least three other persons, including Chinnadurai, Madesh, and Joseph (Raja) who had allegedly supplied Kannukutty with illicit liquor from Kalvarayan hills, Chennai, and Puducherry respectively, have also been arrested.