Howrah (WB), Jul 20 (PTI) Six people died and several fell ill allegedly after consuming country liquor from a hooch den in West Bengal's Howrah district, a police officer said on Wednesday.

Though the cause of the deaths is yet to be ascertained, police have arrested the owner of the liquor shop, Pratap Karmakar.

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A number of people fell ill after consuming the country liquor on Tuesday night in Malipanchghora area, the officer said.

"Most of those who had fallen ill were hospitalised and six of them died this morning. We are waiting for the post-mortem examination report to ensure the cause of the death. We have arrested the owner of the shop and sent alcohol samples from there for chemical examination," the officer said.

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The condition of a few others is stated to be “critical”.

The authorities have sealed the shop.

Following the deaths, people are staging protests in the area.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)