Death toll from tainted liquor in Mumbai reaches 92

Eight more people died in Mumbai from drinking tainted liquor, raising the death toll to 92 in the worst such incident in India in more than a decade, ABC news reported quoting police.

The eight men died late Saturday, three days after drinking the cheap liquor in Malvani, in Mumbai's Malad suburb. Around two dozen others were being treated in hospitals, including 10 in critical condition.

Eight officers and constables of the Malvani police station have been suspended on charges of connivance and negligence.

Devendra Fadnavis, the top elected official of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, has ordered an inquiry into the cause of the deaths. Police have collected samples of the spurious liquor and have sent them for analysis.

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.

In 2004, 104 people had died after drinking spurious liquor in Mumbai's Vikhroli area.