Amaravati, January 20, 2026: Two software engineers Manikumar (34-35), working in Chennai, and Pushpa Raj (22-26), based in Bengaluru, lost their lives after consuming excessive beer during a friendly drinking challenge with four friends in Bandavaddipalle village, Kambhamvaripalle (or K.V. Palli) mandal, Annamayya district.
The group, home for Sankranti, drank around 19 bottles between the afternoon and evening. The victims collapsed from acute dehydration and alcohol overload; one died en route to hospital, the other during treatment at a facility in Piler.
Authorities, including excise officials, confirmed all six consumed the same legal beer with no defects found in preliminary checks. Samples are under lab analysis in Chittoor, and special teams probe further. Social media rumours of illicit liquor were dismissed as false.
