At least 21 people are dead and more than two dozen have been hospitalised after drinking illegally-brewed poisonous alcohol in northern India.
Villagers, mostly poor farmers and workers, fell ill after drinking the alcohol on Friday night.
"Many of those who drank the liquor started vomiting and complained of severe abdominal pain before collapsing," police official Atul Kumar said.
"The first deaths were reported by Saturday evening. Three to four people have been blinded by the tainted drink," Kumar said.
Several among 25 people admitted to the hospital were in serious condition and the death toll could rise further.
A local vendor had been arrested and faces charges of culpable homicide, he added.
Three district officials and seven policemen have been suspended for neglect of duty with state authorities ordering an investigation into the matter.
The illegal liquor trade thrives in India because it is much cheaper than commercially produced alcohol. Last year, more than 100 people died after consuming toxic liquor in Mumbai.
