Five people, including a husband and wife, have died after drinking “homeopathic liquid” in Lakhai upazila of Habiganj.
They died on Wednesday and Thursday, said Lakhai police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Sharif Ahmed.
The deceased were Sudeb Das, 60, and Sujit Das, 35, of Morakori village in Lakhai; Nandalal Rabidas, 52, and his wife Subi Rabidas, 40, of Bhadikara village; and Ranjit Kuri, 36, a resident of Chowdhury Bazar in Habiganj town.
Locals said the five regularly consumed alcohol-like liquid purchased from a homeopathic medicine shop in Morakori Bazar.
They fell ill after drinking it on Tuesday night.
Sujit died on the way to Brahmanbaria General Hospital, while Sudeb died at Habiganj General Hospital.
Ranjit died while being taken to Dhaka for advanced treatment. Nandalal and his wife died at their village home.
OC Sharif Ahmed said police rushed to the scene after receiving information about the incident. However, the families had already cremated four of the bodies without informing the police.
He said only Sudeb’s body was recovered and sent for a post-mortem examination.
“The source of the liquid, whether it contained any toxic substances, and whether anyone else was involved are being investigated. Legal proceedings are underway,” the OC added.
Habiganj General Hospital Superintendent Dr Aminul Haque Sarkar said the exact cause of death would be known after the post-mortem report is received. “The report will determine how they died,” he said.
