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On Monday, 32 people were confirmed dead from what is being called a hooch tragedy in Bihar’s East Champaran district.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the incident a “mass murder by the Nitish Kumar government” because to the high death toll.
Only four months had passed since a similar hooch disaster claimed the lives of many in the Saran district. Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, was widely criticized at the time for losing his temper in the state assembly and shouting things like “those who drink liquor will die.”
Since 2016, when Prohibition was enacted by the Nitish-led administration, the production, sale, and use of alcoholic beverages have been illegal in Bihar. The policy and its implementation have been called into doubt, however, due to the frequent reports of deaths attributed to the drinking of illegal alcoholic beverages.
Eighty people have been taken into police custody in East Champaran during this incident. According to the statement, eleven police officers were suspended for dereliction of duty, including the sub-inspector and assistant sub-inspector in command of the anti-liquor task force in the Areraj and Sadar sub-divisions of Motihari, respectively.
What we know of Bihar hooch tragedy?
The East Champaran district police released a statement saying that 22 individuals in the villages of Turkauliya, Harsiddhi, Sugauli, and Paharpur in Motihari had died as a result of drinking illegal alcohol.
At least 29 people are fighting for their lives in hospitals around the area, including Sadar. It added that four patients’ conditions were reportedly grave.
According to the statement, the district administration has suspended 11 police officers, including the sub-inspector and assistant sub-inspector in command of the anti-liquor task force in the Areraj and Sadar sub-divisions of Motihari.
It was reported that nine ‘chowkidars’ stationed in various villages across Motihari had been placed on administrative leave.
A high-ranking member of the district police force has confirmed that disciplinary measures have been initiated against these officers for apparent incompetence in the performance of their responsibilities.
BJP terms it ‘mass murder’, bashes Nitish government
To paraphrase Vijay Kumar Sinha, leader of the opposition in the Bihar legislature, “protecting liquor mafias who are associated with the ruling JD(U) and the RJD” is a charge the state government has been leveled against them with.
A “probe into the hooch tragedy” will be requested of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and similar federal agencies, according to former state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal.
On Saturday, a group of BJP leaders traveled to many villages in the district where the tragedy was reportedly caused by hooch.
In Motihari, my party leaders and I went to the towns of Sugauli and Paharpur. In these towns, the death toll was highest. We discovered that the district government was hiding the true death toll from alcohol. Since post-mortem tests were not possible in some areas, police did not report all deaths. Sinha asserted, “This is a state-sponsored massacre by the Nitish Kumar government.”
He further claimed that state officials and the state administration were “busy in minimising the gravity of the tragedy.”
What’s more alarming is that local officials aren’t doing enough to keep track of and report deaths related to alcohol use. Sinha claims that the Nitish Kumar administration is shielding members of the JD(U) and RJD who are involved in the illegal liquor trade.
There was no way to get in touch with JD(U) or RJD officials for their thoughts.
According to Jaiswal, “simply a mass murder by the state government” occurred in the Motihari event.
We now know that the relatives of those who died from drinking fake alcohol made every effort to keep the news of their loss from reaching the police. He told reporters in Patna that the fear of legal repercussions for coming forward with the information was to blame.
I maintain consuming liquor is bad: Nitish
Bihar’s chief minister, Nitish Kumar, stated Saturday, in response to the tragedy, “I have been maintaining that liquor is bad and shouldn’t be consumed.” I have demanded that severe measures be taken against offenders of prohibition laws.
According to Jaiswal, the majority of the victims in Motihari’s SC/OBC violence are members of those groups.
For a comprehensive investigation, we will contact the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. According to the BJP representative, the NHRC found that the state administration had attempted to suppress numbers during the hooch catastrophe in Saran in December 2022.
The Saran hooch disaster in December of last year resulted in several deaths.
The committee indicated in its findings that at least 77 individuals died from drinking illegal alcohol between December 13 and 16, 2016, and blamed the state authorities for “suppressing toll.” This was in response to the state government’s allegation that 42 people had died during this time period.
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CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, the Nitish Kumar administration’s political ally, criticized the police’s “inaction” investigating the suspected hooch disaster in Motihari.
Concerned station house officers (SHOs) at the police stations within whose control the suspected hooch killings occurred must face severe consequences. The Left Party issued a statement from Patna saying that local officials should be held accountable for the distribution and consumption of illegal alcohol.
The group also sought restitution for the victims’ loved ones, many of whom perished.
Kumar’s JD (U), the RJD, the Congress, the CPI(ML) Liberation, the CPI, the CPI(M), and HAM make up the ruling grand alliance in Bihar, and together they have more than 160 of the assembly’s 243 seats.
The East Champaran district police have so far registered five cases in the suspected hooch disaster in Motihari and are probing the situation, the notification stated.
According to the police statement, twenty people “involved in the illegal trade of liquor” were arrested in the Motihari districts of Turkauliya, Harsiddhi, Sugauli, and Paharpur.
There were a total of sixty more arrests made of those “involved in the illegal trade of liquor in the district,” it claimed.
Searches conducted by district police at over 600 locations around Motihari over the past 24 hours have yielded large quantities of counterfeit alcohol and related chemicals.
In addition, the statement said, “Police recovered 370 liters of country-made liquor, 50 liters of spirit, and 1,150 liters of other chemicals used in the manufacturing of spurious liquor.”
Despite continued efforts to crack down on bootleggers, reports of liquor smuggling remain common from the state.
