At least 24 Hindus, including six women, have died after consuming spurious liquor during Holi celebrations in Pakistan’s Sindh, two years after a similar tragedy struck the country’s southern province.
Police said 35 people were rushed to a hospital in the Tando Mohammad Khan district late on Monday night, where 24 of them died. Six were women.
“They were celebrating the festival of Holi this week and purchased the cheap liquor from a dealer in Tando Muhammad Khan,” senior police official in Hyderabad, Haq Nawaz, said.
“The condition of the remaining people was also not good,” he said. Following the tragedy, residents staged a protest against the police for failing to stop the illegal sale of hooch in their neighbourhood. Authorities have suspended the area Station House Officer. Two persons have been arrested for brewing the illegal drink.