Failure of Prohibition in Bihar?: 10 Deaths in Sitamarhi and Gopalganj, Sushil Modi Demands Action

Patna: Former Deputy Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday said that recent death of 10 individuals from poor backgrounds due to spurious liquor has once again underscored the failure of prohibition.

Addressing the incident in Sitamarhi and Gopalganj during the Chhath festival, Modi asserted that the Bihar government’s inability to enforce complete prohibition was evident with the latest hooch tragedy. He urged the government to promptly provide an ex-gratia amount of Rs 4 lakh to the dependents of the deceased.

Modi criticized Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for not reconsidering the liquor prohibition policy despite frequent incidents of deaths linked to spurious liquor. He alleged that the police, in collusion with the liquor mafia, was generating substantial income through bootlegging. Additionally, Modi claimed that deaths attributed to poisonous liquor were often concealed as “deaths due to unknown disease” in records to evade compensation for the victims’ families.

Highlighting the scale of the issue, Modi revealed that 8.67 lakh liters of liquor were seized in the last 10 months, but the actual sales volume was 10 times higher. The transportation of banned liquor, not only by two-wheelers and four-wheelers but also by large trucks and containers, further raises concerns, he said.

Modi questioned the feasibility of home delivery of liquor statewide and its availability even at Paan shops in Patna, without a robust and secure supply chain. He dismissed the suspension of lower-level police officers as mere showmanship and urged the government to take stringent action against the leaders of the liquor mafia and their political patrons.