The death toll from drinking tainted liquor in a Mumbai slum has climbed to 84 in the worst incident of its kind in more than a decade.
Another 31 people, 13 of them in serious condition, were being treated in hospitals after drinking the cheap liquor on Wednesday night in Malad, Deputy Commissioner Dhananjay Kulkarni said.
They fell sick immediately. Malad is a northern part of India's financial capital.
Kulkarni said the police have arrested five people who transported and sold the tainted liquor to poor workers.
The Press Trust of India news agency said eight police personnel have been suspended for negligence of duty.
An investigation is taking place on whether high levels of methanol were present in the moonshine, often called "country liquor" in India.
In 2004, 104 people had died after drinking spurious liquor in Mumbai's Vikhroli area.
Deaths from illegally brewed alcohol are common in India because the poor cannot afford licensed liquor. Illicit liquor is often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase its potency.
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