At least 33 people
have died after drinking ilicit brew in India's financial hub of Mumbai,
police said Friday.
Confirming the incident Praveen Satpal, a local
police constable, said 18 people died Thursday night, hours after they drank
the cheap liquor in a Mumbai slum. Dozens of others fell ill and the death toll
had climbed to 33 by Friday, he said.
More than two dozen
others were being treated in hospitals in the Malad suburb of Mumbai. Police have detained
one man and were questioning him about illegally brewing and selling the toxic
drink to poor workers in the slum.
Deaths from drinking
illegally brewed alcohol are common in India because the poor cannot afford
licensed liquor. Illicit liquor is often spiked with chemicals such as
pesticides to increase its potency.