Ajit Kumar Singh, Station House Officer (SHO) of the Lakri Nabiganj police station, said that no conclusions can be drawn on the cause of death till postmortem reports are available.

The victims, all residents of Lakri Nabiganj village, were admitted to Sadar Hospital in Siwan on Thursday evening.

“We received information about the incident on Friday morning and dispatched a team to the hospital to gather further information,” SHO Singh said.

The unusual nature of the deaths has alarmed the police even as sources suggested that the victims might have consumed spurious alcohol.

The incident has sparked fear in the area with villagers spreading the word about the possible circulation of illicit alcohol.

Earlier in the second week of October this year, 62 people lost their lives in Siwan and Gopalganj districts. However, the state police had confirmed 37 deaths.

In Siwan, the incident occurred in Maghar Kodia Panchayat under the jurisdiction of Bhagwanpur Haat police station. Similarly, in Saran, an FIR was registered at the Mashrakh police station after the incident in Brahimpur village.

After investigation in both districts, the state police admitted that the deaths were caused by consumption spurious liquor.

Following that incident, Opposition leaders including Tejashwi Yadav, criticised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the hooch tragedies in Siwan and Saran.

Yadav expressed outrage, claiming that a significant number of people had died and several others lost their eyesight due to consumption of illicit alcohol.

He blamed the state government’s failure to enforce the liquor ban effectively, accusing ruling party leaders of colluding with illegal liquor traders.