Saran (Bihar), March 13 The death toll in a suspected hooch tragedy in Bihar's Saran district rose to five on Friday after two more people died while receiving treatment, officials said.
One of the two men had been arrested on Thursday on charges of possessing illicit liquor.
The incident occurred in the Panapur and Mashrakh areas of the district, where a total ban on alcoholic beverages was imposed in 2016.
At least seven others are currently receiving treatment at the Sadar hospital in the district after allegedly consuming spurious liquor, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Santosh Mahto, Suken Nutt, Dharmendra Rai, Raghuvar Mahto, and Pankaj Singh.
According to the district administration, these deaths have been reported from different localities since March 11.
"Raghuvar Mahto and Pankaj Singh died on Friday during treatment. Their bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and the exact cause of death will only be known after the reports are received," the district administration said in a statement.
It added that Raghuvar Mahto and one of his associates had been arrested on Thursday for allegedly possessing country-made liquor.
Dharmendra Rai of Panapur died at a hospital in Patna on Thursday. His body was later sent to a government hospital in Saran for post-mortem examination, officials said.
Family members of Sukesh Mahto and Suken Nutt reportedly cremated the bodies on Wednesday without informing the police, officials said.
The administration said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe into the incident.
"All hospitals in the district have been put on alert, and instructions have been issued that police must be informed if any patient with symptoms of alcohol consumption is admitted," the statement said.
Officials said the district administration has intensified preventive measures to curb the manufacture and sale of liquor in the area.
Police conducted raids at around 160 locations in Dhenuki, Dhenuki Nat Tola, Dubauli, and Mashrakh on Wednesday and Thursday, arresting 11 people.
During the searches, authorities seized 1,650 litres of country-made liquor, which was destroyed on the spot, along with 128 litres of diluted liquor and 28.4 litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), officials said.
The Bihar government in 2016 enforced a complete ban on the manufacture, trade, storage, transportation, sale, and consumption of liquor in the state.
The Patna High Court last month criticized the Bihar government over the "failure" of the state machinery in effectively implementing the prohibition law, warning that citizens' lives were being put at risk.