Day after prohibition bill passed, hooch claims 4 lives in Bihar

A day after the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill was passed in the state Assembly, making the new law more stringent, four Mahadalits died in a hooch tragedy in Khagaria district.

The deceased, which included three women, have been identified as Reshma, Dulari Devi, Babita and Krishna Sada.

Six others, all Mahadalits, are undergoing treatment at Khagaria Sadar Hospital, while four others, fearing police action, have been admitted to a private nursing home.

The cops have, meanwhile, registered a case under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 328 (administering dangerous substance) and 34 of the IPC.

Khagaria District Magistrate Jai Singh constituted a three-member probe team, comprising a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), sub-divisional police officer and a doctor, to investigate the reason behind the deaths. “The committee will probe the matter and submit its report at the earliest,” said the DM.

District administration officials maintained that “prima facie it appears that the victims died due to food poisoning, but only a probe panel report will unravel the truth.” However, sources from Khagaria contradicted the official version.

‘Cops offered hooch’
“Some of the victims had been hired for cleaning septic tanks attached to a police station. After the work, the cops, instead of paying remuneration, offered them liquor from the seized stock kept at the police station. They (Mahadalits) took the liquor and consumed it at their homes in Baluahi locality. Soon, some of them started vomiting. They were rushed to hospital where four of them died. Others are undergoing treatment,” a source, quoting locals, said.