Karnataka shocker: Man dies after downing 5 liquor bottles in friend’s ₹10,000 dare

In what appears to be a bizarre case, a Karnataka man, identified as Karthik, 21, allegedly consumed five neat liquor bottles over a ₹10,000 bet. He had told his friends, namely Subramani, Venkata Reddy, and three others that he could intake five full bottles of liquor without mixing alcohol with water, NDTV reported.

Upon hearing this, Reddy dared Karthik to do so and he would give him ₹10,000 if he could prove it.

What happened after it?

After accepting the challenge, Karthik became ill and was admitted to a hospital at Mulbagal in Kolar district, where he reportedly died during the treatment. He leaves behind his wife whom he married a year ago and a child who was born eight days ago.

A police case has been registered at Nangali police station against six individuals, comprising Reddy and Subramani. Both have been nabbed, and the police personnel are looking for the other accused.

What does the World Health Organisation (WHO) say about alcohol consumption and related deaths?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 2.6 million people die of alcohol consumption every year, comprising 4.7% of global deaths.

To determine a 'safe' level of alcohol consumption, valid scientific evidence would need to show that consuming alcohol at or below a specific level carries no risk of illness or injury, a 2023 WHO report states. The new WHO statement clarifies that the current available evidence does not support the existence of a threshold at which the carcinogenic effects of alcohol begin to take effect in the human body.

"Moreover, there are no studies that would demonstrate that the potential beneficial effects of light and moderate drinking on cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes outweigh the cancer risk associated with these same levels of alcohol consumption for individual consumers," it added.

Not the first incident

In a separate incident, a 21-year-old social media influencer, Thanakarn Kanthee, known online as "Bank Leicester" in Thailand, tragically died after drinking two bottles of whisky in December, 2024. He was offered 30,000 Thai baht ( ₹75,228) to complete the challenge of chugging the liquor. The Thailand police arrested a man who hired him to take on the bet, reports had said.