Five people, including a couple, have reportedly died after consuming an alcohol-based liquid allegedly used as an intoxicant in Habiganj’s Lakhai upazila, prompting a police investigation into the source of the substance.
The deaths occurred on Wednesday and Thursday.
Police have confirmed the deaths of three people, while local residents and an elected union parishad member said two others also died after consuming a similar alcohol-based liquid.
Authorities said they have not yet received official reports regarding those two deaths.
The deceased were identified as Monoranjan Das, 60, and Sujit Das, 35, of Morakori village; Nandalal Rabidas, 52, and his wife Subi Rabidas, 40, of Bhadikara village; and Ranjit Kuri, 36, of Habiganj town.
According to local residents, Monoranjan, Sujit and Ranjit regularly purchased an alcohol-based liquid from Hahnemann Homeo Hall, a homeopathic medicine shop in Morakori Bazar owned by Sajal Das, and consumed it as an intoxicant.
They reportedly fell ill after drinking the liquid on Tuesday night. Monoranjan died while undergoing treatment at Habiganj 250-bed District Sadar Hospital, Sujit died on the way to Brahmanbaria District Sadar Hospital, and Ranjit died while being taken to Dhaka for advanced treatment.
Pradip Das, owner of Joy Baba Loknath Fish Market in Morakori Bazar, said the victims had regularly bought the alcohol-based liquid from the homeopathic shop for consumption.
“People here believe the liquid they consumed caused their deaths,” he said.
In a separate incident, Bamai Union Parishad member KM Zia said Nandalal Rabidas and his wife, Subi Rabidas, died at their home after consuming an alcohol-based liquid purchased from a local market. Their bodies were later cremated, he added.
Debashish Das, a physician at Habiganj 250-bed District Sadar Hospital, said it was not possible to determine the cause of death without laboratory tests and a medical investigation.
“If the reported sequence of events is accurate, poisoning from an alcohol-based substance consumed as an intoxicant could be a possible cause. However, this is only a possibility. The actual cause can only be confirmed through a proper investigation and necessary examinations,” he said.
Lakhai Police Station Officer-in-Charge Sharif Ahmed said police had officially received information about three deaths.
“We reached the scene while one of the bodies was being buried. Two other bodies were cremated without informing the police. We have no official information regarding the remaining two deaths,” he said, adding that an unnatural death case has been filed.
Police are investigating the incident to determine the cause of the deaths and whether any criminal offence was committed.
Meanwhile, attempts to contact Sajal Das, the homeopathic practitioner accused by local residents of supplying the alcohol-based liquid, were unsuccessful. Locals said he has been in hiding since the incident.
