Three persons died after they consumed spurious liquor at Varambetta, near Vellamunda, in Wayanad on Wednesday.
The police identified the dead as Thigannayi, 75, of the Kochara settlement, his son Pramod, 35, and their relative Prasad, 35.
The police said Thigannayi was the ‘shaman’ of the hamlet and had many devotees.
A devotee offered a bottle of Tamil Nadu-made foreign liquor to him on Wednesday morning.
He consumed part of the liquor and kept the bottle in his room. Thigannayi soon collapsed and died en route to hospital.
Since Thigannayi was a renal patient, his relatives considered it a natural death and made arrangements for his cremation, the police added.
Around 10 p.m., Pramod and Prasad consumed liquor from the bottle and they too collapsed soon.
Though they were rushed to the District Hospital, Mananthavady, they died before being brought to the hospital.
The police suspect the victims might have consumed poison-laced liquor as hooch might not trigger such sudden death.
The real cause of the deaths could be ascertained only after analysing liquor samples, the police said, adding that samples of the liquor and internal organs of the deceased would be sent for analysis.
The police took two persons into custody in connection with the case.
The bodies were taken to the Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, for post-mortem examination.