Bihar man held for liquor smuggling died in Excise Dept custody, alleges kin

The family also alleged torture by the Excise Dept officials

A man from Bihar who was arrested by the Excise Department on charges of liquor smuggling, died while in custody, the victim's family alleged on Tuesday.

The 62-year-old victim, Kapil Muni Singh, a native of Godasan village under Kargahar police station in Bihar, had gone to Dildarnagar in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district for a fair.

While returning in a private bus, the Excise Department along with the police were conducting checks at the Badhora checkpost and found two bottles of liquor from Singh's possession on December 25.

"A day later after taking him into custody, his health deteriorated and we took him to Sadar hospital Bhabhua. As his condition was critical, the doctors referred him to Varanasi where he died during treatment," said Rakesh Kumar, the Excise Superintendent of Kaimur district.

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The victim's family has however, claimed that Singh was neither ill nor did he have any health problems.

The Excise Department team released other passengers after taking bribes and arrested him as he was unable to pay the sleuths, the family members said.

They further alleged that Singh was tortured by the Excise officials while he was under detention.