At least seven persons died and over 14 were battling for their lives in hospitals after allegedly consuming hooch in Bihar’s Siwan district on Monday. Six of those who were taken ill have lost their eyesight. The death toll can increase further.

The incident occurred at Bala and Bhopatpur villages under the Nabiganj police station area in the district. The locals have identified the deceased as Surendra Rawat, Naresh Rawat, Janak Been, Rajesh Rawat, Dhurendra Manjhi, Jitendra Manjhi and Lakshman Deo Ram.

However, the government gave a lesser figure of the toll and the ill persons.

“Five persons have lost their lives in the hooch case, while six are undergoing treatment in hospitals. We have detained a few people for questioning with regard to the case. Investigations are going on,” Saran range deputy inspector general (DIG) Vikas Kumar told The Telegraph.

Siwan also comes under his jurisdiction. Sources in the police said that at least 16 people have been detained.

They suspected that a part of the methyl alcohol or spirit meant to make hand sanitiser was used to make hooch and led to the deaths.

Sniffer dogs have also been deployed to help recover any hidden poisonous liquor. All the deceased are in the age group of 20 to 45 years and hail from the socio-economically weaker sections of society.

They, along with several others, had allegedly consumed liquor on Sunday evening and fell ill with symptoms such as dizziness, stomach ache, nausea, breathlessness, and vision loss after a few hours.

“When my father woke up early on Monday morning he was unable to find his slippers and started calling us. We then realised that he was unable to see. We asked him whether he had liquor last night and he replied in the affirmative. We rushed him to the hospital, but his condition deteriorated and he died within a couple of hours,” said Shyam Deo Ram aka Munna Ram, son of deceased Lakshman Deo Ram.

The family members of another victim Dhurendra Manjhi, a daily wage labourer, narrated a similar story.

They asserted that he had consumed liquor on Sunday evening at some place around the village.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar did not respond to questions on the hooch deaths put to him by reporters at a function in Patna.

Nitish imposed prohibition in April 2016. However, it stands compromised across the state by a nexus of the liquor mafia, enforcement agencies and politicians.

Hooch deaths in the state are being seen as a fallout of prohibition as people prepare illicit liquor locally to meet the demand and make a fast buck.