14 people die from drinking toxic liquor in India

NEW DELHI — At least 14 people died and six were hospitalized in critical condition after consuming toxic liquor overnight in northern India, police said Tuesday.

Seven people were arrested on allegations they supplied the toxic liquor in five villages around 19 kilometers (12 miles) from the city of Amritsar in northern Punjab, senior police officer Maninder Singh said.

The police have launched a crackdown to destroy the network of spurious liquor supplies in the area following the incident, Singh said.

The local administration deployed medics to the villages to check on people who drank the contaminated liquor, said Sakshi Sawhney, a senior government official in Amritsar.

Those showing symptoms are being shifted to hospitals to ensure the death toll doesn’t rise, said Sawhney.

Investigators have not said what ingredients were suspected of causing the deaths and sickness.

In India, deaths from consumption of contaminated liquor manufactured locally is rampant, mainly in rural areas.