Family Feud Turns Fatal as Cyanide-Laced Liquor Claims 2 Lives, Police Say

In the second laced-liquor event in recent news, two men are found dead after unknowingly consuming alcohol that was found to have been mixed with cyanide. Police suspect a family feud led to the deaths. (Photo: Pexels)

On June 12, two lifeless bodies were discovered in Tamil Nadu, India. According to reports, the men, aged 65 and 56, had unknowingly consumed cyanide-laced liquor purchased from a local wholesale liquor shop. Police suspect a family dispute to have led to the deaths, per The Hindu.

The men, identified as Poorasamy and Palanigurunathan, were found collapsed near a blacksmith workshop they both worked at, prompting concerned neighbors to rush them to a local government hospital — where they were declared dead upon arrival, per the report. The bodies were then transported to the Government Thiruvarur Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examinations.

During the investigation, two liquor bottles suspected to have been consumed by the victims were discovered at the scene. Samples from these bottles were collected and sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Thanjavur for testing and analysis, per The Hindu.

In response to the incident, relatives of the deceased staged a protest, blocking a local highway and claiming that the liquor led to the deaths; however, district administration officials persuaded the demonstrators to suspend the roadblock, reported The Hindu.

Chemical analysis confirmed the presence of cyanide in the blood and viscera samples of the deceased, while no methanol was detected, per the report. Collector A.P. Mahabharathi, leading the investigation, revealed that Palanigurunathan’s stepbrothers, Manoharan and Baskaran, had bought the liquor from a nearby wholesale liquor shop. They reportedly obtained cyanide from a goldsmith and mixed it into the bottles due to an ongoing family feud, according to Mahabharathi.

Initially registered under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the case was subsequently reclassified as a murder case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The Hindu reported that the police apprehended Manoharan and Baskaran, while the goldsmith was detained for further questioning as the investigation progresses.

Shockingly, this event is extremely similar to another laced liquor case involving two deaths — also in Tamil Nadu — in May. Then, two men reportedly consumed liquor found to have contained “a mix of cyanide poison” that was purchased from a nearby bar. The bar was later closed when its owner and a staff member were allegedly arrested in connection with the incident.

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