NEW DELHI: The death toll has climbed to 54 from consumption of tainted liquor in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, with more than 100 people still in hospital, a government official said on Saturday (Jun 22). Nearly 200 people have been treated since Wednesday for vomiting, stomach aches and diarrhoea
Methanol can also form naturally during fermentation, given the right conditions (certain microorganisms) and ingredients (pectin): nih.gov
Just looking at the production process of methanol vs ethanol it’s way more likely that some asshole found some industrial methanol and stole it and used it to boost the potency of their product to boost their profit. Making enough methanol on a homebrew level to be dangerous is actually pretty tricky to do.