Five Die After Drinking ‘SpuriouS Liquor’ In Dry Bihar

Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Feb 20: Five persons have died allegedly after consuming suspected spurious liquor in the past three days in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar where sale and consumption of alcohol are banned. They died after drinking spurious liquor in Dargah village under Katra police station area, a relative of one of the victims, Khelawan Manjhi, said on Saturday.

Several political leaders including a BJP MLA also backed Manjhi’s assertation. The saffron party is part of the ruling alliance in the state.

Senior Superintendent of Police Jayant Kant confirmed that five persons have died in the village but denied that the reason was consumption of spurious liquor. However, the SSP has suspended Station House Officer of Katra police station, Sikandar Kumar, following the incident.

An FIR has been registered against unknown persons, Kant said. District Magistrate Pranav Kumar, the SSP and other senior officials visited the village and met family members of the deceased persons on Saturday.

The Muzaffarpur district administration issued a statement saying that the five were not suffering from any illness and the reason behind their death would be known only after the postmortem examination. The statement said that it was revealed during preliminary investigations that they might have taken some beverage and the possibility of country liquor being manufactured at the village level cannot be denied.

Revenue and Land Reforms Minister and local BJP MLA Ram Surat Kumar visited the village and that stern action will be taken against those involved in the manufacture of liquor. RJD leader and MLA Niranjan Rai, who also went to the village to inquire about the incident alleged that the district administration is trying to suppress the incident.

Rai said that he would apprise leader of the opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav of the incident and raise the issue in the ongoing budget session of the assembly. District Congress Committee spokesman Ved Prakash has demanded a high level probe into the matter.

The Nitish Kumar government had on April 5, 2016 banned the manufacture, trade, storage, transportation, sale and consumption of liquor including IMFL in the state. PTI CORR AR NN NN 02210027 NNNN.

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