Spurious liquor deaths compel Bihar govt to act

As part of a drive against illegal brewers, 46,567 litres of illicit home made and 4916 litres of Indian made foreign liquor have been seized from across Bihar from October last year to January this year.

A total of 54 people lost their lives after consuming hooch during this period.
The government has filed chargesheet against 9178 people and 292 have been jailed in connection with the manufacture and sale of hooch, said excise minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav.

He was replying to a question from CPI MLA Kedarnath Pandey in the legislative council on Thursday.

Yadav said the state government has launched a campaign against illegal liquor to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

Weekly meetings

As part of the exercise, chief secretary holds a weekly meeting with the district magistrate and superintendent of police of all districts.

A control room has been opened in excise department to monitor the situation, he added.

Coming strong on hooch related deaths in the state, chief minister Nitish Kumar had announced the launch of a comprehensive drive to break the network of illegal liquor trade.

He had also mooted confiscation of property of those found guilty in such cases.