Liquor or food? Mystery over 7-8 deaths in Chhattisgarh village

RAIPUR: At least seven persons have died under mysterious circumstances in the past 4-5 days in a village in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur , triggering a health emergency response by the administration. All the dead men were aged between 35 and 60 years.

While villagers blamed liquor, administration claimed the victims' health deteriorated after consuming food at a community feast in Lofandi village. One of them died of a snakebite, the administration stated.

The first two deaths were reported on February 5 - Devprasad Patel and Shatrughan Dewangan. Two days later, five more villagers died. One of them died in hospital, and his death certificate stated 'cardio-respiratory arrest'.

All but one of the deceased were cremated without the administration being informed, an official statement said, adding that a few had prior ailments. When news eventually reached Bilaspur, a team was sent to take custody of the body of Ramu Ram Sunhale. An autopsy was conducted , but the report didn't state any specific reason for his death.

Bilaspur SP, zilla panchayat CEO, municipal commissioner and a health department team rushed to the village. Teams have been going door to door checking on residents. Bilaspur collector Awanish Sharan told TOI that as per preliminary investigation, villagers said there was a wedding from February 3-6. After that, 4-5 people died in the village and a few others were hospitalised.

However, the sarpanch told reporters all those who died were addicted to liquor. He claimed that nine people died in the past few days due to over-consumption of liquor and denied that food poisoning was the cause of death.