Two software engineers die due to choking on food after alcohol consumption

Two software engineers from Annamayya district died after allegedly choking on food following heavy alcohol consumption with friends earlier this week, and authorities are continuing investigations into the incident, police said. The deceased have been identified as Mani Kumar (35) and Pushparaj (27), both residents of the district, who met four friends from the same village on January 17 and consumed beer for several hours.

Rayachoti Deputy Superintendent of Police Krishna Mohan said that the group bought 19 beer cans and drank them between about 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm on January 17. During that time, Kumar consumed around six cans and Pushparaj nearly five, police said.

While returning home, Kumar collapsed and complained of difficulty breathing. His friends rushed him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Pushparaj was taken to the same hospital but died later that night around 10 pm. Preliminary investigations indicate that overconsumption of alcohol and food getting stuck in the throat led to respiratory distress, police said.

Kumar’s father, Narasimha, had lodged a complaint on January 18 saying he did not know the cause of his son’s death. Police registered a case under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The bodies were sent for postmortem, and samples from the beer cans were sent to a laboratory for testing; authorities said these tests confirmed there were no impurities in the beer. Blood and other biological samples from both men have also been sent for further analysis as part of the ongoing investigation.