NEW DELHI, May 13, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Seventeen people have died in northern India and six are in critical condition after drinking moonshine, police said Tuesday, updating the toll.

Hundreds of people die every year in India from drinking cheap alcohol made in backstreet distilleries.

To increase its potency, the liquor is often spiked with methanol that can cause blindness, liver damage and death.

The latest incident happened late on Monday after villagers in the Amritsar district, in Punjab, drank liquor laced with methanol.

Senior police officer Maninder Singh said 17 people had died in five villages.

Nine people have been arrested, Punjab police said in a post on X.

"Investigation is underway to uncover the entire modus operandi and to bring all involved to justice," it said.

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said those responsible would be punished.

Last year, 53 people were killed after drinking moonshine in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.