At least 24 people have died and several others fallen ill after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in the Indian state of Bihar in the last two days during the ongoing festive season.
The cases have been registered in the Gopalganj and West Champaran Districts of the state.
"I have visited the houses of persons who died allegedly because of consuming spurious liquor. It could be a conspiracy to defame the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government", Bihar State Minister Janak Ram, who visited a hospital in the Gopalganj District on Thursday, told reporters.
Four persons have since been arrested in connection with the incident, which occurred between Tuesday and Wednesday, senior police officer Anand Kumar said.
"Some people have died under mysterious circumstances in the village of Muhammadpur in the last two days", he said.
"The cause of their death cannot be confirmed as autopsy reports are still awaited. Three teams are probing the case", Kumar added.
"Over 20 persons, mostly belonging to a backward caste, had allegedly consumed spurious liquor being sold by local traders in the area and have been identified", the Indian news agency Press Trust Of India (PTI) reported, quoting another police officer.
The consumption of illegally produced alcohol, which is much cheaper than branded spirits, is typical in rural parts of the country.
In October, eight people died in similar incidents in the Muzaffarpur District.
Bootleggers often add methanol - a highly toxic form of alcohol sometimes used as anti-freeze - to their mixture to increase its strength. If ingested in even small quantities, methanol can cause permanent blindness, liver damage, and death.