June 22 (Mid-day): This 58-year-old prevented her son’s death by rushing him to the hospital as soon as she heard about the deaths in the Malwani hooch tragedy; thanks to her, he is now out of danger

Presence of mind helped 58-year-old Harubai Mahapure save her son’s life, after he consumed the same deadly hooch that has claimed at least 104 lives since Thursday. Harubai and her son, Ashok (30) and his wife, live in Laxmi Nagar chawl in Malwani, which saw dozens of deaths from the toxic booze.

As soon as she heard about the other victims on Thursday afternoon, she asked her son whether he had consumed the same liquor and he told her he had. She immediately rushed him to Shatabdi Hospital – and a not a moment too soon, for as soon as they reached and queued up, Ashok began vomiting, an early symptom of alcohol toxicity.

“My son, Ashok, drinks on alternate days. On Wednesday night, he drank liquor from Raju Langda’s (the prime accused in the Malwani hooch case) den. The very next day, I heard of all the deaths and I asked Ashok whether he also drank the same alcohol. When he said yes, I rushed him to the hospital,” recalled Harubai.

At Shatabdi Hospital, there were already some 50 to 60 people admitted and there was a queue of patients, many of whom were already vomiting. My son also began vomiting while waiting in the queue,” she added.
But Harubai and Ashok got truly worried when they saw people succumb to the lethal booze in front of their eyes.

“We saw three people walk into the hospital on their feet and then leave in a shroud. I got scared and decided to take my son to a private hospital,” said Harubai, who ended up spending over Rs 50,000 on her son’s treatment. Now that he is out of danger, Harubai has a word of advice for others, “Don’t drink alcohol.”