India, Sept. 7 -- The Bundelkhand belt of Madhya Pradesh has been struck by its second hooch tragedy in six years, leaving 11 dead in Sagar district, with investigators pointing to a suspected link to neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, where cheaper alcohol draws daily buyers across the border.

More than a dozen districts in Madhya Pradesh share boundaries with UP, where alcohol and petrol are comparatively much cheaper, encouraging people to cross the border to buy them, say locals.

In February 2021, four persons died in Chhatarpur district, which is also part of Bundelkhand, after consuming a country-made liquor brand called 'Dilse' purchased from a shop in UP, according to police.

On Sunday, 11 persons died and 54 others fell ill, many wit...