Patna: The death toll in the Gopalganj hooch tragedy has risen to eight as of Thursday morning, with six more people succumbing. Four people have lost their eyesight, according to an official, and several others are seriously ill and receiving treatment in hospitals in Motihari, East Champaran district.

Meanwhile, state Mining and Geology Minister Janak Ram, a BJP MLA from Gopalganj, sparked outrage by calling the tragedy a "conspiracy" by the opposition to avenge Nitish Kumar's bypoll victory.

"The people who died in the Gopalganj liquor tragedy were from BPL families. They were assassinated as part of a plot by opposition party leaders to discredit Nitish Kumar's government. They carried out the hate conspiracy during the Diwali and Chhath festivals. On Thursday, Janak Ram stated, "The state government will take stringent action against the accused." On Tuesday evening, the incident occurred in Mohammadpur village, which is under the same police station. The deaths, according to Gopalganj district magistrate Dr Nawal Kishore Chaudhary, occurred under mysterious circumstances. "We took samples from the victims' homes and sent them to a forensic lab for analysis." "We're also awaiting the deceased's post-mortem report," Chaudhary said.

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