Kohima: At least nine people have died at Civil Hospital, Tuensang after consuming spurious liquor, in what is now the deadliest hooch tragedy in eastern Nagaland this year. The deaths, reported on Saturday night and Sunday morning, prompted Director General of Police Rupin Sharma to issue an unprecedented red alert across Nagaland. The DGP confirmed that all nine victims showed symptoms of methanol poisoning and said investigation is underway to trace the source of the toxic brew. Families of the deceased alleged that the liquor was purchased from unlicensed vendors operating in Tuensang town.
In a public advisory issued on Sunday, DGP Sharma urged citizens not to consume any form of liquor, especially in Mon, Mokokchung, Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire, Shamator and Noklak districts, which form the eastern belt bordering Myanmar. He also appealed to people in Dimapur, Kohima and other western districts to abstain till the chemical analysis report is clear. Police sources said samples of the suspected liquor have been sent to Forensic Science Laboratory, Dimapur, and door-to-door searches are being conducted in Tuensang to seize remaining stock. The advisory has created panic as Tuensang shares porous borders with Myanmar and Assam where smuggling is rampant.
The incident has reignited the fierce debate over the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1989, which came into force in 1990 after strong pressure from the church and civil society groups. The law was enacted to bring social reform, reduce domestic violence and curb alcohol-related crimes and to align with Naga Christian values. Initially hailed as a moral victory empowering village councils and women’s organizations, after 35 years the Act is now widely seen as a failed experiment. Even inside the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly, ministers admitted that prohibition has pushed liquor underground rather than eliminating it.
Excise Advisor Moatoshi Longkumer told the Assembly that prohibition has created a parallel mafia economy. A government survey found more than 500 illegal liquor outlets functioning in the guise of cold drink and pan shops in just 19 wards of Kohima. In Dimapur, hundreds of such illegal shops operate openly near highways. The Excise Department report tabled in the House said because there is no quality control, spurious, adulterated and inferior quality liquor floods the market, leading to early deaths of youth. Border towns like Lahorijan in Assam thrive solely on supplying liquor to Nagaland, with criminal syndicates running the network.
The report also highlighted a darker consequence. With liquor becoming expensive and underground, many Naga youth have shifted to cheaper but far deadlier narcotics and synthetic drugs, fueling a drug crisis in the state. Nagaland loses hundreds of crores of rupees annually in excise revenue which could have funded de-addiction centres, hospitals and schools. Tourism, hotel and hospitality industries are also severely hit because tourists avoid a dry state. Enforcement remains weak with limited manpower, outdated breath analyzers and no testing labs in eastern districts, making it impossible to check methanol content.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio himself had stated in the Assembly that government can only regulate and restrict sale and flow of liquor but cannot outrightly prohibit an individual’s personal choice, and as long as demand exists, supply will follow. Following the Tuensang deaths, several organisations including Association of Kohima Municipal Wards Council, Naga Mothers Association and Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation have demanded scrapping of NLTP Act in its present form. They propose a tightly regulated licensing model with district-wise capping, ward veto power, complete ban near schools and churches, strict age verification, restricted sale hours and high excise duty earmarked only for de-addiction and rehabilitation.
As of Monday morning, Tuensang Police have detained three suspected bootleggers and sealed two godowns. Post-mortem reports are awaited. The nine deceased are mostly daily wage workers and small farmers aged between 28 and 52 years. Civil society leaders in Tuensang said unless Nagaland moves from moral prohibition to practical regulation, such deaths will continue. The Tuensang hooch tragedy is not just about nine deaths, it is about the death of a 35-year-old law that was meant to save lives but is now taking them.
