Police In Andhra Pradesh Identified Around 235 Persons Addicted To Consuming Sanitisers 

Amaravati: Police officers in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh on Monday said that hey have identified at least 235 persons who have become addicted to consuming sanitisers due to non-availability of alcohol. Last week, 16 people in the district’s Kurichedu mandal died after consuming sanitizer in lieu of alcohol.

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SP Siddharth Kaushal said police on Sunday identified 35 persons and another 200 on Monday who have been consuming sanitisers. ‘We are in the process of identifying more people. It is an ongoing process and we are in continuous engagement with them, counselling them and telling them about the dangers of consuming sanitisers,’ he said.

As most of the areas in Kurichedu, Darsi and Vinukonda mandals have been identified as containment zones, all the liquor shops in these areas have been shut. Due to non-availability of liquor, several people who are addicted to alcohol have turned to consuming sanitisers.

Teams of police personnel, led by Kaushal, are going door to door in the three mandals to find out if any of the family members are consuming sanitisers. A large number of used and unused bottles have been seized.

Police officials are seizing the sanitisers from the addicts and are providing counselling to them. ‘We are informing them how the harmful chemicals can cause death in a few days. All those who are now consuming sanitiser are extremely poor daily-wagers, beggars or labourers,’ Deputy SP K Prakash Rao said.