Karnataka liquor deaths are deaths in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

state in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1981 by consuming illegal

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

. In July 1981 about 308 people died in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

by illicit liquor. Adulteration of cheap liquor by

methyl alcohol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a lig ...

resulted in deaths. Availability of cheap spurious alcohol (known as hooch) is a problem around the Tannery Road area of the Bangalore Cantonment, with many dwellers getting addicted. Notorious bootlegger Marimuthu (who later became a councillor of

BBMP The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is the administrative body responsible for civic amenities and some infrastructural assets of the Greater Bengaluru metropolitan area. It is the fourth largest Municipal Corporation in India an ...

) and Ameer Jan were running the operation. Hooch is brewed from

industrial alcohol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...

, by separating methyl alcohol and adding water – a risky process which can leave traces of poisonous

. The brew is a slow poison, damaging the

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

and intestines, leading to slow death. On 7 July 1981, about 300 people (Official figures 229) around the Tannery Road area died as a result of consuming this spurious alcohol. Most of the victims were poor

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

s. Police registered cases against 63 people, but none were convicted or punished. An enquiry commission revealed a connection between some politicians and the bootleggers. A paltry sum of INR1000 (; close to US$200) per family was paid to the victims by the

Gundu Rao R. Gundu Rao (27 September 1937 – 22 August 1993) was the Chief Minister of Karnataka state from 1980 to 1983. Early life Rao was born in a Kannada Brahmin family in Kushalanagara in the erstwhile Coorg Province (now in Kodagu district of Ka ...

government.

References

Karnataka Liquor Deaths, 1981 Alcohol-related deaths in India Methanol poisoning incidents 1980s in Bangalore History of Karnataka (1947–present) July 1981 events in Asia {{india-hist-stub

See also

References