The past two weeks have seen an epidemic of deaths and illnesses in rural India caused by the consumption of "spurious" alcohol. The beverages in question are described as "bootleg hooch", which gives the impression that the products are manufactured using the wrong methodology which results in their becoming poisonous.
In reality, it is a government requirement that ethanol, a substance produced by the fermentation of various agricultural products, be adulterated with poison if it is to be used for industrial purposes rather than as a more highly-taxed drink. Thus ethanol, the chemical that makes drinkers giddy, is made poisonous so its consumption will cause death.
Ergo, the deaths of these Indian tea plantation workers are exactly what the Indian government, and many other governments, including that of the US, desire in the case of drinking untaxed alcohol. The strategy works just as intended.
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