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3 more hooch deaths in Bihar, toll 36
So far, West Champaran, Samastipur and Gopalganj districts have reported 14, six and 13 deaths, respectively, in hooch tragedies around Deepawali.
At least three people died on Tuesday after consuming spurious liquor in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, taking the toll of the suspected hooch deaths since November 2 to 36 in the state where sale and consumption of liquor was banned in April 2016.
So far, West Champaran, Samastipur and Gopalganj districts have reported 14, six and 13 deaths, respectively, in hooch tragedies around Deepawali.
According to Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police (SSP) Jayant Kant, all the three deceased had consumed some spurious substances on November 7 and suffered from diarrhoea before they died. “While two of them died during treatment, the third died at home,” Kant said, adding that a fourth person is undergoing treatment.
Meanwhile, the station house officer (SHO) of Kanti police station, Kundan Kumar, and chowkidars of two villages have been suspended, confirmed the SSP.
The deceased have been identified as Ram Babu Rai (67), Dilip Rai (50) and Gopi Patel (30), residents of Kapurpura, Bariyarpur and Sirisiya villages, respectively, all falling under Kanti police station limits of Muzaffarpur district.
Based on the feedback from the family members, Sanjay Rai, excise superintendent, Muzaffarpur, said, “They all were habitual consumers of toddy (tari).”
Muzaffarpur district magistrate (DM) Pranav Kumar said, “Given the kind of reports pouring in from different quarters, the possibility of deaths occurring due to spurious liquor consumption could not be ruled out. Anything could be said with certainty only after the autopsy report arrives.”
Bodies of only two of the deceased, Ram Babu Rai and Dilip Rai, have been sent for autopsy, said Sanjay Rai, excise superintendent.
In all, 18 people have been arrested in four districts of West Champaran, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur and Samastipur since the first death was reported on November 2. “After the arrest of three persons, one person linked with Patori incident was arrested on Monday night,” said MS Dhillon, SP, Samastipur.
