At least 72 more people succumbed to alcohol poisoning in two districts of Assam on Saturday, taking the death toll to 114 in what has turned into one of the worst episodes of mass hooch deaths in recent years. The deaths, mostly of tea estate workers in Golaghat and Jorhat districts, came less than two weeks after tainted liquor killed about 100 people in the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, on Tuesday ordered top officials to ensure “a complete ban on sale of illegal liquor” and take steps to arrest and punish the guilty. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the dead and Rs 50,000 to those undergoing treatment.
