97 people have died after reportedly consuming spurious alcohol in Mumbai
The toll in the Mumbai hooch tragedy - the worst such in 11 years in Maharashtra - shot up to 98 on Monday, police said.
Police said so far 98 have succumbed and around 40 more are under treatment in various government and private hospitals since the past four days.
These people had consumed liquor at a country liquor bar in Malwani on Wednesday night. State education minister Vinod Tawde visited the area and announced a compensation of Rs one lakh each for the dead.
The Crime Branch, which is probing the incident, has launched a manhunt across Mumbai and its surroundings for at least four bootleggers who are said to be the kingpins of the illicit liquor trade.
So far seven people have been arrested in connection with the incident, two of them are women.
Meanwhile, Mumbai police have launched a house-to-house search in the Laxmi Nagar slum and other areas to ascertain if anybody had visited or bought liquor from there and consumed it.
At least eight such people were detected on Sunday and were taken to hospitals.
In December, 2004, 87 people have died in two such incidents in Mumbai.