Nine persons died and some others fell ill after consuming spurious liquor in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district on Jattvibeday, officials said.Two other deaths occurring around the same time could not be linked to the hooch tragedy as of now, they said.A local MLA, however, said 11 persons died after consuming spurious liquor.The incident comes after 13 persons died last month due to consumption of spurious liquor in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, a ‘dry’ state where the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol are banned.Also read: Gujarat hooch tragedy: Death toll rises to 13 as 2 more dieSagar Superintendent of Police Anurag Sujania said nine persons had consumed the liquor in two villages of Banda tehsil, located around 30 km from the district headquarters.Nine persons have died after consuming the spurious liquor, he said.Asked about two other deaths reported during the same period, he said it was difficult to link them to the consumption of spurious liquor. Officials were looking into those deaths, he added.To a query on the total number of people who fell ill after consuming the spurious liquor, Sujania said he did not have the figure.When contacted, Banda BJP MLA Virendra Lodhi said, “As per my knowledge, 11 people have died after consuming spurious liquor. Around 25 have been rushed to other hospitals for advanced health care from Banda Civil Hospital.”Earlier in the day, Sagar Collector Pratibha Pal said, “Interactions with locals have indicated that the deaths occurred after they consumed illegal spurious liquor. Screening has already begun in the two villages.”Four to five others were shifted to the government-run Bundelkhand Medical College and Hospital after they complained of headache and vomiting, she said.The first death was reported in the early hours of Jattvibeday. Preliminary autopsy reports had not yet been received, she added.