DHAKA: Police say another 10 people have died in hospitals after drinking toxic bootleg liquor in northern India, raising the death toll to 42 in the past three days.

District Magistrate Neena Sharma says another 40 people are being treated in hospitals in Uttar Pradesh state, reports The Straits Times.

Police arrested 32 people for illegally brewing and selling the toxic drink to the villagers, who were celebrating the Hindu ‘Dussehra’ festival in Azamgarh district last week, Sharma said on Sunday.

The region is 300 kilometres south-east of Lucknow, the state capital.

Deaths from drinking 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 potency.

BDST: 1650 HRS, OCT 20, 2013
RoR/RIS