How Madhya Pradesh illicit liquor deaths brought 'doorstep delivery' network into focus

At least 15 people died in Sagar district and over 100 are under treatment in hospitals even as CM Mohan Yadav ordered the suspension of some officialsAt least 15 people have died in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district and around 105 are under treatment in hospitals after drinking spurious liquor, bringing into sharp police focus a localised ‘doorstep alcohol delivery’ model prevalent in the state.The police have booked 20 people and arrested 10 out of them. They have seized two types of suspicious liquor from the home of an alleged supplier in Patan village. Which of these liquor varieties caused the deaths and hospitalisations is yet to be confirmed.The first report of people falling ill was reported on the evening of September 4 from the villages Gogra Khurd, Nauroz and Patan in Banda tehsil. By next day, news of deaths began pouring in. Vomiting and impacted kidneys, symptoms considered to be associated with poisoning by methyl alcohol, were reported. Many of those who had consumed the spurious liquor and showed symptoms were admitted to the Banda Civil Hospital and the Sagar Medical College.The police are investigating two angles. First, that the liquor was supplied by a local through a doorstep delivery system for a premium. Second, the liquor was adulterated and sold by inter-state liquor mafia. In the former system, the local supplier usually buys from liquor contractors and supplies to villages by charging an extra amount. The police, on September 6, seized significant stocks of alcohol, including country liquor and one Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brand going by the brand name ‘Sagar Gold’. Sagar Gold is a whisky manufactured by DSR distillery in Sagar district.“We have ascertained that the stock seized was purchased from a liquor contractor in Barethi. We have asked for the lot to be checked and where all it was supplied, and for it to be withdrawn from the market,” said Deepak Saxena, state excise commissioner.Investigators were looking into possible Uttar Pradesh links to the tragedy. In May, the Uttar Pradesh police had arrested a couple on charges of liquor smuggling in Jhansi. The suspects had apparently told the police that huge quantities of illicit liquor were being dumped in Madhya Pradesh as there was a market for it.Following the deaths in Sagar, chief minister Mohan Yadav has ordered the suspension of several officials—assistant commissioner (excise) Kirti Dubey, assistant district excise officer Dilip Khandate and police officers Rajendra Kushwaha and Proshni Ureti from the Banda police station.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsPublished By: Shyam BalasubramanianPublished On: Sep 7, 2026 19:04 IST