The victim Vikas and Mahesh got themselves drunk at the liquor shop and ended up arguing with each other, following which the liquor shop staff intervened and tried to pacify them.
The incident took place at Laxmanpur on Wednesday evening, when a group of men consumed alcohol at an illicit liquor den and fell unconscious soon after, an official said.
They were admitted to a hospital, where five people in the age group of 45 to 60 years died by Friday morning, he said, adding that 16 more were undergoing treatment.
Officials said wine shops across the State usually register over Rs 70 crore sales everyday but on Thursday, sales went up to Rs 194 crore due to the New Year celebrations
While it is yet to be known whether the bottles were later sold off at wine shops or privately to individuals, what is known is that the two persons involved in the scam
According to police, the driver has been identified as Md Ahmad Alishah, a resident of Nidadavole town. The liquor was transported from Kolkata to Andhra Pradesh.
Police are also not ruling out the possibility of sanitiser being mixed in liquor as one the person hospitalised said liquor supplied by one of the deceased tasted like soap.