The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Kolkata

At least 22 people have died in Kolkata after drinking bootleg liquor and the death toll could rise, police said on Monday.

The victims, mostly labourers, started vomiting and convulsing with stomach pains on Sunday after drinking the liquor in slums around the city's Kidderpore port area along the river Ganges.

"The victims continue to pour in to the hospitals. We have arrested five brewers and raids are on to dismantle the shops," said Jawed Shamim, a senior police official.

In May 2008, at least 180 people died in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India's worst bootleg liquor tragedy.