Tainted alcohol kills 19 and blinds six in India

At least 19 people have died and another six have been blinded after drinking tainted alcohol in northern India over the weekend, police said.

Another 50 people fell ill after consuming the home-brewed liquor and were being treated in hospitals in Etah district in Uttar Pradesh state, senior police officer Ajay Shankar Rai said. The Press Trust of India news agency put the death toll at 21.

Mr Rai said the victims bought the alcohol from a village shop on Friday evening and started falling ill and dying. The shop owner, who has been arrested, was selling a pouch of tainted liquor for a mere 15 rupees (€0.20), six times cheaper than the legal drink, he said.