Motihari: The death toll in the hooch tragedy in East Champaran district rose to six on Saturday following the death of Lal Kishor Rai (45), a resident of Hardia village under Turkauliya police station area. He had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital after consuming spurious liquor in Turkauliya, police said.Addressing a press conference, superintendent of police (SP) Swarn Prabhat said a special investigation team (SIT) seized around 700 litres of spirit from a drain in Salempur village near Piprakothi on Friday. The seized substance was examined by chemical experts, who confirmed it to be pure methanol, a highly toxic industrial chemical.“Chemical tests revealed that the seized spirit was methanol, which is extremely dangerous for human consumption and can cause blindness or death. Timely action by the SIT helped avert a larger tragedy, as the recovered spirit was allegedly meant for distribution across the district,” the SP said.Investigations revealed that spirit smugglers Kanhaiya and Raza, residents of Piprakothi, had brought the consignment, which was then sold to Khalifa and Sunil Sah of Parsauna. From there, it allegedly reached Naga Rai and Jammu Baitha, who distributed it in the Parsauna and Balganga areas.Police have arrested Raza, Jammu Baitha, Naga Rai and Khalifa in connection with the case. “All the arrested accused have confessed to their involvement. Further investigation is on to identify other members of the network,” the SP said.
