The shop that has allegedly sold spurious liquor. Picture by Nantu Dey

Raiganj, Aug. 19: Five persons have died in the past 48 hours after allegedly consuming spurious liquor from a shop at Ukilpara, barely 150 metres from the police station here.

Asutosh Sarkar, 37, and Rintu Karmakar, 40, died last night. On Sunday, Mohammed Safi, 24, Prakash Saha, 31, and Ramu Pahan, 27, lost their lives after consuming liquor from the same shop which also sells cooked food. The owner of the shop is missing.

Chief medical officer of health of the district Sudhangshu Sekhar Sahu said the five might have died from the poisonous effect of liquor.

Local traders have called a 12-hour bandh today in the area to protest against the “inability” of the police and the excise department to stop the illegal sale of liquor.

Residents here said illegal hooch dens have mushroomed all over town. The shops at Tulsipara, Sudarshanpur, Indira Colony, Debinagar, Ukilpara and even the area around the district hospital and the station have been selling the liquor clandestinely.

Rintu, the owner of a small shop selling gold ornaments, and Asutosh, the employee of an adjacent shop, started vomiting blood soon after they returned home last evening. They died after getting admitted to the district hospital.

Kanu Pahan, a resident of the Rashbehari Market area, said his brother, Ramu and two of his friends, Safi and Prakash, consumed liquor at the shop in Ukilpara on Sunday.

“My brother returned home and started vomiting blood. He died before we could call a doctor,” Kanu said. “We came to know later that the other two had also lost their lives after developing the same symptom. We were too scared to inform the police.”

The secretary of the shop-owners’ association in Lichutala, Narayan Ghosh, said the eatery has been selling spurious liquor with the full knowledge of the police. “How is it possible that the police do not know about this racket which is flourishing in town.”

Shibani Majumdar, a schoolteacher who lives in Ukilpara, said women were scared to move around the streets after sunset. “We are subject to jeers and leers from the shop.”

The local Congress councillor of the municipality, Bimal Jyoti Sinha, voiced concern over the loss of lives. “I did not expect such a tragedy would take place. We will remove all such shops from my ward,” he said.

Shanti Kumar Dey, the district excise superintendent, said he had taken charge today and had little knowledge of the clandestine business. “I have sent my officers to inquire.”

According to Shankar Singha, the North Dinajpur district police chief, all police stations have been asked to seal illegal liquor shops.