Indian police say 41 have died from drinking tainted liquor

Police have detained one man and were questioning him about illegally brewing and selling the toxic drink to poor workers in the slum.

Mumbai — Police officials say more than 40 people have died after drinking tainted liquor in India’s financial hub of Mumbai.

Constable Praveen Satpal said the death toll had climbed to 41 on Friday, a day after residents in a Mumbai slum drank the cheap liquor.

Satpal says at least 18 people died on Thursday night just hours after they drank the tainted liquor. The others died Friday morning. More than two dozen others were being treated in hospitals.

Police have detained one man and were questioning him about illegally brewing and selling the toxic drink to poor workers in the slum.

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 its potency.