# Hooch deaths probe ordered in MP after 13 alleged fatalities 2026-10-24T21:56:50+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets The Ujjain Divisional Commissioner has ordered a high-level probe into the alleged deaths of 13 people from spurious liquor in Dewas district, Madhya Pradesh, between 27 September and 16 October. The five-member panel, headed by Additional Collector Pratham Kaushik, must submit its report in 15 days. The opposition Congress, led by state president Jitu Patwari, visited the affected villages on 24 October and claimed 22 deaths, accusing the government of shielding the liquor mafia. The district administration has denied the allegations, attributing deaths to natural causes or excessive legal liquor, and said viscera samples have been sent for forensic testing. The probe order came hours after the Congress delegation's visit, and follows an earlier denial of hooch deaths by the Dewas administration. The Excise department has collected liquor samples for testing, with further action pending forensic results. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The three sources converge on the core event: a probe ordered after 13 alleged hooch deaths. New Indian Express and The Hindu report the probe order as a lead fact, while Deccan Chronicle foregrounds the Congress allegation and administration denial. New Indian Express notes the probe followed the Congress visit, implying political pressure, The Hindu and Deccan Chronicle report both sides without that sequence. The Hindu includes a villager's eyewitness account of symptoms, absent in others. The administration's denial that no hospital admissions occurred appears in The Hindu and Deccan Chronicle, but New Indian Express omits it. All sources agree the probe report is due in 15 days. Deccan Chronicle gives the Excise commissioner's direct denial that tests found no spurious liquor, a detail the other two lack. The uniform point across all sources is that the cause of death awaits viscera and forensic reports. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - newindianexpress.com (neutral report) Leads with probe order, includes both admin and Congress sides - thehindu.com (neutral report) Balanced coverage with villager quotes, admin denial, and probe order - deccanchronicle.com (neutral report) Focuses on Congress claim and Excise denial, less on probe details This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Dewas, Jitu Patwari, Madhya Pradesh, Ujjain Divisional Commissioner Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/hooch-deaths-probe-ordered-in-mp-after-13-alleged-fatalities/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/hooch-deaths-probe-ordered-in-mp-after-13-alleged-fatalities/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/