The Mallicks, who live near gate number 9 of the Hooghly jute mill, have lost four of their relatives. Mahinder Mallick, Sagar Mallick, Nebulal Mallick and Mangla Mallick — all aged between 25 and 40 — consumed the spurious liquor on the Saturday night.

Soon after, they complained of nausea and stomach ache. According to family members they drank a lot of water and started vomiting.

“They were taken to the Shambhunath Pandit hospital where Mahinder Mallick died early on Sunday morning.

“He was an alcoholic. They (the family members) used to drink everyday after finishing work at a local shop,” said Gita Mallick, Mahinder’s wife.

The Mallicks have been living in the shanties for over two decades. Almost all male members worked in the jute mill and earned anything between Rs 3000 to Rs 3,500 per month. Another member of the family, Dilip Mallik is admitted at Shambhunath Pandit Hospital in a critical condition.

Similar is the tale of the Rao family where a mother and a son have fallen prey to the spurious liquor. Sushila Rao and Prakash Rao died on Saturday night, hours after consuming the liquid. “

My mother died at home and my brother passed away on the way to the hospital,” says Bairagi Rao, Sushila’s son. The whole slum area is dotted with illegal liquor shops. Ganesh and Tenia, who have been arrested by the police, had a flourishing business of illegal liquor for the past decade.

Even after Saturday’s incident, they sold the spurious liquor to customers like C H Vallaiya Rao, who died on Monday morning.