The number of patients admitted so far in the four Ahmedabad hospitals - Civil Hospital, V.S. Hospital, LG Hospital and Shardaben Hospital - rose to 276 with nearly 100 still under observation either in ICUs or surgical wards.

Meanwhile, the alleged key bootlegger, Harishankar Kahar, nabbed by the Crime Branch, has been sent to police remand for 14 days by a local court.

Embarrassed by the scale of the tragedy in a state where consumption and sale of liquor is officially banned, police have swept through Gujarat in search of those illegally selling home-made liquor.

On Thursday, Gujarat closed down 1,200 liquor dens and arrested over 800 illegal brewers.

Gujarat is the country's only state where sale and consumption of liquor is banned in deference to Mahatma Gandhi, a Gujarati who was passionately opposed to liquor.

This has led to a proliferation of illegal liquor dens, whose home-made brew is mostly consumed by those from low income families who can't afford high priced drinks available outside the state.