NEW DELHI, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in the eastern Indian state of Bihar on Monday have ordered a probe into the death of seven people who had allegedly consumed spurious liquor, officials said.
The deaths took place in Lauriya police station area of West Champaran district. The administration came to know about the deaths on Sunday.
According to police, all seven persons have been cremated by their families without getting an autopsy of the bodies.
Senior police official Ranjan Kumar Singh attributed the deaths to some diseases that these people were suffering from. However, Local media reports quoting villagers blamed the deaths on the consumption of spurious liquor.
Experts said the families of the victims were not coming forward to avoid police cases as liquor is banned in Bihar.
The deaths have once again highlighted the sale of spurious liquor in an otherwise dry state, where the sale and consumption of liquor are strictly prohibited by law.
The sale and consumption of liquor were prohibited in Bihar in 2016. The ban was imposed after women groups campaigned against poor workers squandering their meager earnings on alcohol consumption.
Despite the prohibition, deaths from the consumption of illicit liquor in the state were reported often. ■