Cuttack, Feb 9 (PTI) Doctors at the SCB Medical College and Hospital here treating hooch victims for the past three days today dismissed the theory of "spurious medicine" being floated by some officials. While Cuttack district Collector Girish S N had been stating since Tuesday that the victims are dying due to consumption of spurious medicines, the doctors said the cause of deaths of these people was methanol intoxication, which was because of spurious liquor. "All the cases that we have received at SCB Medical College and Hospital are showing symptoms of methanol intoxication which is due to spurious liquor," said Prof Sidharth Das, head of the hospital's medicine department. Das is heading the team of doctors engaged in treating the liquor victims. Other medicine experts are also of the opinion that even over dose of certain medicines containing higher alcoholic percentage and are used as an alternative to liquor would not be as fatal as the situation has turned out to be. "It is certain that victims had taken certain preparation which was made spurious by adulteration," the doctors claimed dismissing the theory that spurious medicine was the cause behind the tragedy. When the collector was asked as to how he inferred such an opinion, he said there had been no trace of liquor when the excise sleuths raided the liquor joint in Mahidharpada on Tuesday afternoon.
