4 die in Bihar’s Siwan village in second hooch tragedy this week

A preliminary probe by the Siwan police has indicated that eight people including the village watchman consumed spurious liquor on Tuesday evening.

CHHAPRA: Four people have died after consuming illicit liquor in the western Bihar district of Siwan, about 25km from the three villages in the adjoining district of Saran where 52 people have died in a hooch tragedy this week, police said on Friday.

Relatives of people who died after consuming allegedly spurious liquor mourn at Chhapra in Saran district of Bihar on Wednesday (HT Photo/Santosh Kumar)

Police said three men, Shambhu Yadav (28), Amir Manjhi (30) and Awadh Manjhi (28), died late on Thursday in the Brahmsthan area under Siwan’s Bhagwanpur Hatt police station and the fourth, Rajendra Pandit (30) on Friday morning.

A preliminary probe by the Siwan police has indicated that eight people including the village watchman consumed spurious liquor on Tuesday evening. Most of them fell ill soon after, and were taken to hospital with complaints ranging from loss of vision to nausea, headache and vomiting.

Shambu Yadav’s family told reporters that he complained of loss of vision after consuming liquor on Tuesday evening and was taken to the hospital. He and the other two persons died on Thursday.

Police said the families of the three men quietly cremated the bodies to avoid police action. Consumption, possession or sale of liquor is a crime in Bihar where the Nitish Kumar government imposed prohibition in 2016.

Siwan district magistrate Amit Kumar Pandey said the administration rushed a team after hearing of the deaths. By then, three of the four victims had already been cremated.

Officials said Rajendra Pandit’s body was sent for autopsy.

Pandey said he has constituted a probe team under the joint supervision of the sub divisional officer and sub divisional police officer and sought a detailed report.

Maharaajganj sub divisional police officer Polastu Kumar told HT that the investigation was still going on. “We will be able to divulge more details once we get the autopsy report,” he said.

Nitish Kumar, who imposed prohibition in 2016, has come under sharp attacks from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the hooch tragedy. On Friday as the opposition tried to corner him in the state assembly over the rising deaths due to spurious liquor, Kumar rejected the BJP demand to announce compensation for the people who died due to consumption of liquor.

“No compensation will be given to people who died after drinking...We have been appealing- if you drink, you will die...those who talk in favour of drinking will not bring any good to you...”, Kumar said, reiterating a point that he made on Thursday as well.