Indian state suspends 23 officers over alcohol deaths

In a bid to crackdown on illegal alcohol sales, authorities in a north Indian state have suspended 23 officials as the death toll of villagers who drank illegal liquor hit 38.

Investigators are looking into whether officials turned a blind eye to the illegal sales or possibly accepted bribes to overlook the black market trade, District Magistrate Raj Shekhar told ABC News.

More than 100 people are still receiving hospital treatment after buying homemade booze on Sunday from a village shop in Uttar Pradesh, many of whom have lost their eyesight and remain in a critical condition, officials reported.

Police raids on local shops resulted in 1,700 litres of illegal spirits being seized, popular within the poverty-stricken region.

“The economy of at least a half-dozen nearby villages is based on the manufacture and sale of illicit liquor,” said Rudra Pratap Rawat, whose father died as a result of the latest incident.

On Tuesday, police arrested the owner of the Datil shop that sold the alcohol on Sunday night. Further reports suggest another 12 people were also arrested on Wednesday in connection to the case.