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W Champaran ‘hooch’ death toll climbs to 16
The death toll due to suspected consumption of spurious liquor in Bihar’s West Champaran district climbed to 16 on Friday even as the police made the first arrest in the case and detained five others, including four women, for questioning, district officials said
The death toll due to suspected consumption of spurious liquor in Bihar’s West Champaran district climbed to 16 on Friday even as the police made the first arrest in the case and detained five others, including four women, for questioning, district officials said.
“Two village chowkidars have also been suspended,” said a press release issued by the district administration.
Sale and consumption of liquor is banned in Bihar since April 2016.
Bagaha superintendent of police Kiran Kumar Gorakh Jadhav, who is also currently in-charge of Bettiah police, said, “Raids are being conducted. We have also pressed into service a dog squad . No seizure has been made as yet.”
Late Thursday evening, police had registered a case in which two persons, identified as Thug Sah and Suresh Sah, were made named accused. On Friday, Thug Sah’s son Sumit was arrested.
Kundan Kumar, district magistrate (West Champaran), said families of the deceased had denied they had consumed liquor. “One of those who died in Bagahi village was on dialysis, other at Deurawa village died following a heart attack,” he said, while describing the other deaths suspicious.
“Causes of other deaths could not be known immediately as the last rites on the bodies had been performed. The matter is being investigated further,” Kumar said. “We have deployed medical teams at Deurawa and Bagahi villages to facilitate treatment for anyone with any symptoms,” he said.
Top district and police officials visited Deurawa village on Thursday evening after the reports of deaths.
“We took statements of about 40 people, including the family members of those who died, but all of them denied consumption of liquor. However, one of the two persons undergoing treatment confessed to having been served liquor,” Lalan Mohan Prasad, deputy inspector general of police (DIG), Champaran range, said.
However, villagers at Deurawa said sale and consumption liquor was rampant in their village. “My brother fell sick after consuming liquor which is being openly sold despite prohibition,” said Bhola, cousin of Mumtaz Ansari who confessed to have consuming liquor before falling sick.
Meanwhile, the incident evoked a sharp reaction from opposition RJD . In a tweet, party supremo Lalu Prasad said, “In Bihar, thousands of people are dying every year from spurious liquor under good governance. Under the garb of prohibition, ruling party people are running a parallel illegal economy of ₹20,000 crores in Bihar. Lakhs of Dalits and poor are lodged in jails in the name of prohibition. Police have become corrupt and tyrannical.”
Birendra Gupta, the CPI-ML (L) legislator from Sikta assembly constituency, termed the deaths as state sponsored and demanded the compensation of ₹4 lakh for dependent of each of the family of deceased. He also accused the district administration of hushing up the matter. “The family members of the deceased are under pressure...they earlier accepted that the deaths occurred due to consumption of illicit liquor,” said Gupta, who visited the families of the deceased.
