In February 2019, nearly 100 people died after drinking contaminated alcohol in two neighboring states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in northern India.
[1][2] Deaths from illicit liquor are common in India, where illegally manufactured alcohol is often consumed for reasons including poverty and geographic isolation.
According to the latest figures from India’s National Crime Records Bureau, 1,522 people died of drinking spurious liquor in 2015 — nearly all of them men.
[4] In Uttarakhand, 36 people died in Haridwar district after consuming illegal liquor served to them as part of a mourning ritual.
Authorities said they believe the two incidents were linked, with mourners probably having made the journey from Uttar Pradesh to Uttarakhand to transport liquor to sell.