At least eight persons have lost their lives in West Champaran district of dry Bihar over the past three days after allegedly consuming spurious liquor.

Residents of the affected areas — Deorwa, Jogia, Bagahi and several other villages under Lauria and Ramnagar police stations — said the toll was between 16 and 20. Several people are undergoing treatment at hospitals in the state and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, they said.

“We got information around 7.30pm on Thursday that eight persons have died in suspicious circumstances in Deorwa, Jogia and Bagahi villages over the past two to three days. We also came to know that some people are being treated at private nursing homes. We rushed there to investigate the matter,” West Champaran district magistrate Kundan Kumar told The Telegraph.

He said the villagers insisted that the deceased were ill and denied the cause of death was liquor consumption. When they were asked for prescriptions, the family members of only two of the victims could produce documents, he said. One victim was on dialysis while another had an ailing heart. The rest of the deaths appeared suspicious, he said.

However, the district administration got information that one person, identified as Muhammad Mumtaz, was being treated at a private hospital. A few officials were sent to meet him where his cousin said Muhammad fell ill after consuming liquor.

“An FIR has been lodged on the basis of the information. We have been conducting raids since last (Thursday) night. A few people have been detained so far. A medical team has also been dispatched to the area to deal with any emergency,” Kumar said.

The district magistrate said that deaths caused by drinking spurious liquor could be proved either by investigation or medical examination. He, however, said the last rites of all the deceased have been performed, which was proving to be an obstacle in determining the cause of deaths. Asked if there were any plans to exhume bodies to conduct tests, Kumar denied.

Sources said the family members of the deceased hurriedly cremated or buried the bodies according to their customs without informing the police or the local administration allegedly out of fear of retribution for violating the liquor ban. The family members were also afraid that the police would exhume the bodies for investigation, they said.

A few others said that the local police and administration officials allegedly threatened them of dire consequences if they lodged a case or complained to the senior officers. A few residents alleged that the area was a hotbed of illicit liquor brewing and gambling.

Champaran range deputy inspector-general Lalan Mohan Prasad claimed the deaths occurred due to liquor consumption. “We have got the names of eight persons who died. There could be others who lost their lives after drinking hooch. We have registered an FIR with Lauria police station. Further investigation is on,” Prasad told this newspaper.

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad attacked the Nitish Kumar government on Friday over the deaths.

“Thousands of people are dying in Bihar after consuming spurious liquor due to good governance’s prohibition. Those in power are running a parallel economy worth Rs 20,000 crore due to prohibition. Lakhs of Dalits and poor people are in jail in the name of liquor ban. The police have become corrupt and cruel,” Lalu said.

There have been a series of hooch-related deaths in Bihar since chief minister Nitish brought a law to ban liquor manufacturing, trade and consumption in the state in 2016. Sources said that lacklustre policing and a nexus between law enforcement agencies and liquor mafia were the main reasons behind the illegal sale and consumption of liquor.

At least 22 people have lost their lives in separate hooch tragedies in Kaimur, Muzaffarpur and Nawada districts this year.