Tamil Nadu Hooch Tragedy: Death Toll Rises to 63

Tamil Nadu:  The death toll due to the consumption of spurious liquor in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district has risen to 63. Moe than 100 people have been receiving treatment at different hospitals after the hooch tragedy which occurred in Karunapuram village on June 18.

Tamil Nadu | Death toll in Kallakurichi hooch tragedy rises to 63. pic.twitter.com/03W7m2WPLW

— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2024

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo moto cognizance of the incident and issued notices to the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and the Director-General of State Police, seeking a detailed report within a week. Additionally, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo moto cognizance of the deaths of six women in the tragedy and formed a three-member committee to investigate the matter. NCW member Khushbu Sundar is set to visit the affected families and those undergoing treatment.

The Tamil Nadu government has requested 10 days from the Madras High Court to file a detailed report on the incident. The high court has granted time until July 3 for the report, after previously asking the state government to detail the steps taken to prevent such tragedies.

The incident has sparked a political confrontation between the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). AIADMK legislators were suspended for the remainder of the assembly session after Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said the government was ready to answer questions but accused the opposition of seeking cheap publicity.

Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami claimed the suspension was premeditated. "We were not allowed to speak. We followed the rules, but it was rejected... We were not allowed to speak in Question Hour yesterday," Palaniswami said. He added that after the AIADMK walked out of the assembly, Stalin gave a 15-minute reply.

AIADMK MPs, wearing black shirts, have been raising slogans in the Tamil Nadu Assembly over the past few days. On Tuesday, they were suspended for a day, but the suspension has since been extended.