Palakkad: Five people died in the Chellanam tribal colony here allegedly after consuming spurious liquor. Besides, nine people including three women have also been hospitalised after they developed uneasiness.
According to the Walayar police, the deceased were identified as Raman (52), Ayyappan (55), his son Arun (22), Sivan (45), and his brother Moorthy (33).
"Raman died on Sunday morning and according to the tribal tradition during the funeral function, others have consumed the liquor. As per our preliminary probe, all death caused due to suspected consumption of spurious liquor. We are awaiting a chemical report to find the exact cause of deaths," said Walayar police.
Police are also not ruling out the possibility of sanitiser being mixed in liquor as one the person hospitalised said liquor supplied by one of the deceased tasted like soap.
Among the dead, Raman passed away on Sunday morning while Ayyappan died by evening. Others also died on Monday.
Earlier, the deaths were thought to be due to natural cause but after a series of deaths, the bodies were exhumed and subjected to a post-mortem at the district hospital.
Police are carrying out the probe with the help of forensic experts and some empty bottles have been recovered from the premises. (ANI)
