4 family members die after consuming methanol ‘mistaken for liquor’; chemical seller booked

BHILWARA: Four members of a family, including three women, died in Aloli village under the Gangapur police station area of Rajasthan's Bhilwara district Friday morning after allegedly consuming a fuel chemical used for heating food, mistaking it for liquor, officials said.

The victims had been working on contract as dishwashers at a wedding ceremony for the past three days. Officials said that late Thursday night they brought the chemical from the wedding venue to their home and drank it, after which their condition deteriorated and they died.


The deceased were identified as Ratan Kanjar (49), Sushila Devi (48), Jamni Devi (62) and Badami Devi Kanjar (60), all residents of Aloli village.

Bhilwara district collector Jasmeet Singh Sandhu and Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Singh Yadav visited the village along with teams from the excise and the medical departments. The collector directed health check-ups for residents in every house in the village.

Police said the chemical substance was "methanol organic salt." A case was registered against shop owner Anuj, 38, for allegedly not having a valid licence to sell chemicals. During the investigation, a team led by the drug controller officer reached the shop and seized 20 bottles of methanol. The shopkeeper was being questioned as part of the investigation.

A forensic science laboratory team also reached the spot and collected evidence. Post-mortems were conducted by a medical board, and the bodies were handed over to family members for last rites.

Collector Sandhu announced plans for financial assistance, noting that since the victims were not registered under the Chief Minister Ayushman Arogya Yojana, proposals are being prepared to provide Rs 1 lakh to each family from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. He emphasized that preliminary investigations indicate the deaths were indeed caused by the consumption of the toxic chemical, mistaken for alcohol.

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