Chhattisgarh: Nine dead after drinking medicine to get high
Bilaspur, May 6: At least nine persons have died over the last two days after allegedly consuming an alcohol- based homeopathy medicine as a substitute for liquor in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district, police said on Thursday.
The deaths were reported from Kormi village under Sirgitti police station area, said Bilaspur superintendent of police (SP) Prashant Agrawal.
"Prima facie, it seems like the deceased consumed Drosera-30, a homeopathy syrup with about 91 per cent alcohol content, in excess as a substitute for liquor," he said.
"However, the exact cause of deaths will be known once the post-mortem report is available," Agrawal told reporters.
A case has been registered and further investigation is underway, he added.
Of nine victims, four died at home late on Tuesday night, one on Wednesday morning while three others succumbed at hospitals on Wednesday night, said additional superintendent of police (ASP) Umesh Kashyap.
Another person died at the Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS), Bilaspur on Thursday morning, he said.
As per preliminary investigation, Kamlesh Dhuri (32), Akshya Dhuri (21), Rajesh Dhuri (21) and Samru Dhuri (25) consumed the medicine on Tuesday night and died a few hours later.
Suspecting that they had died of COVID-19, their families performed last rites the next morning without informing the authorities, the ASP said.
Later, another person who had consumed the same medicine died in the village, he said.
On being alerted about the deaths, a police team rushed to the village on Wednesday evening, and shifted others who had consumed the syrup and were in critical condition to hospitals in Bilaspur.
Khemchand Dhuri (40), Kailash Dhuri (50) and Dipak Dhuri (30) died during treatment on Wednesday night and another man succumbed on Thursday morning.
Six others were undergoing treatment at CIMS and another at a private hospital, ASP Kashyap said.
They had procured the medicine from a homeopathy practitioner in the area, he added.
A health camp was held in the village on Thursday for medical check-up of villagers, Kashyap added.
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Will vacate one of two assembly seats won in 10 days: BJP''s Suvendu
Kolkata (PTI): BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur and secured Nandigram for three times in a row in the recent assembly polls, said on Wednesday that he would vacate one of the two constituencies within 10 days.
Adhikari also asserted that the party's central leadership would decide which constituency he would retain.
"I will vacate one seat within 10 days. The party will decide which one I retain. I will not forget my responsibility towards the people of Bhabanipur and Nandigram," he said.
Adhikari on Monday defeated Banerjee in Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes, puncturing what was long seen as her safest political refuge and delivering a decisive psychological blow to the TMC, amid a sweeping BJP surge across West Bengal.
Addressing party workers and supporters in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP leader appealed to them not to take out victory processions immediately and instead maintain peace.
"Do not take out victory rallies now. Maintain peace and discipline. Celebrate after May 9, after taking permission," he told party workers.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday announced that the oath-taking ceremony of the new government will be held on May 9 at Brigade Parade Ground.
Referring to alleged attacks on BJP workers during the TMC regime, Adhikari said he would not forget the “atrocities" faced by them and assured them of taking appropriate action against perpetrators through legal processes.
"I was part of the 2011 ‘poribartan’ (change), and now I am part of the real change. I offer my gratitude to the people of Nandigram," Adhikari said.
He was referring to the TMC's victory in 2011 when the Mamata Banerjee party dismantled the 34-year Left Front regime in the state.
Adhikari offered prayers at a Hanuman statue in Nandigram and remembered the BJP workers, who had died in political violence.
"We will work in such a way that the BJP government in Bengal stays for 100 years," he said, expressing hope that the BJP’s vote share in the state would rise from the current 46 per cent to 60 per cent in future elections.
The BJP leader also assured residents of Nandigram of improved drinking water supply and better hospital and education infrastructure.
