NEW DELHI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in India's north-eastern state of Assam rose to 22 on Friday, said media reports.
Besides, as many as 50 people are being given medical treatment at different hospitals.
Preliminary inquiry into the tragedy has revealed that the victims consumed liquor mixed with methyl alcohol, reported the English daily The Times of India.
The tragedy struck Assam's Golaghat district. Almost all the dead, including four women, were tea garden workers. State Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has instructed an official inquiry into the tragedy.
Earlier this month, around 100 people died in a hooch tragedy in northern Indian states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Following the deaths, the authorities suspended several officials and started a crackdown on illicit liquor manufacturing units and sales points.
In December 2011, hooch tragedy killed 172 people in South 24-Parganas district of West Bengal.
Spurious alcohol deaths are often reported in India, where people often drink cheap bootleg liquor.
