Andhra Pradesh: Man consumes hand sanitiser to get high, dies

TIRUPATI: A man died after he allegedly consumed hand sanitiser in Prakasam district .


Obulesu, hailing from Pendlimarri town in the district, consumed sanitiser late on Saturday by diluting it with water. He breathed his last after he was rushed to Rajiv Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) for treatment.

The exorbitant cost of liquor in government-run retail outlets and the easy availability of hand sanitisers in the wake of Covid-19 spread are learnt to be the reasons for the guzzlers looking for a cheaper alternative.

Though the news initially made rounds that ten persons had consumed sanitiser and three of them died, police brushed aside the reports as ‘baseless’ and pegged the number at one.

Chenna Reddy alias Bheemaiah was also believed to have consumed sanitiser and died, but police attributed his death to some other reasons.

Another unidentified person died three days back due to a disease and his body was immediately buried by his relatives, but this death was also cited to be due to consuming sanitiser. “All the reports making rounds hold no truth. Only Obulesu died after consuming sanitiser”, deputy superintendent of police ( Kadapa ) U Suryanarayana confirmed to reporters.

Meanwhile, the police rushed five liquor addicts to the de-addiction centre at RIMS. They have reportedly consumed sanitiser for a high, but are reportedly maintaining stable health at present.