Death toll rises to 22 in Bihar hooch tragedy, BJP accuses Nitish govt of 'mass murder'

Motihari/Patna: As the death toll in a suspected hooch tragedy in Bihar's East Champaran district rose to 22 on Sunday, the opposition BJP alleged that the incident was a "mass murder by the Nitish Kumar government".

Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly, Vijay Kumar Sinha, accused the state administration of "protecting liquor mafias who are associated with the ruling JD(U) and the RJD".

The party will approach the National Human Rights Commission and other such central bodies to conduct a "probe into the hooch tragedy", former state BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal said.

Twenty-two people in Turkauliya, Harsiddhi, Sugauli and Paharpur villages of Motihari have so far died after allegedly consuming illicit liquor, the East Champaran district police said in a statement.

“At least twenty-nine others are battling for their lives at Sadar and different hospitals in the district. Condition of four patients is reported to be critical," it said.

A team of BJP leaders visited some of the villages in the district where the suspected hooch tragedy was reported on Saturday.

“I, along with my party leaders, visited Sugauli and Paharpur in Motihari. These are the villages where the maximum deaths took place. We found that the number of persons who died due to consumption of liquor was being suppressed by the district administration.

"At some places, cases were not registered by the police as post-mortem examinations could not be conducted. It's a state-sponsored mass murder by the Nitish Kumar government," Sinha claimed.

He also alleged that the state government and its officials are "busy in minimising the gravity of the tragedy".

"What is even more disturbing is that the district authorities are not making efforts to properly record and report active incidents of death due to consumption of liquor. The Nitish Kumar government is protecting liquor mafias who are associated with JD(U) and RJD," Sinha said.

JD(U) and RJD leaders could not be contacted for comments.

The police, however, claimed to have arrested 80 people from East Champaran district of dry Bihar, following the suspected hooch tragedy in Motihari. The district administration suspended 11 police personnel, including a sub-inspector and an assistant sub-inspector, who were posted as in-charge of anti-liquor task force at Areraj and Sadar sub-divisions of Motihari respectively, on the charge of dereliction of duties, according to the statement.

Nine 'chowkidars' posted at different villages of Motihari were among the suspended policemen, it said.

Disciplinary actions have been taken against these police personnel for alleged dereliction of duties, a senior official of the district police said.

Jaiswal also alleged that the Motihari incident was "simply a mass murder by the state government".

"We have come to know that the affected families tried to avoid informing the police that their loved ones died due to consumption of spurious liquor. This was due to perceived fear of legal consequences for reporting the matter to the authorities," he told reporters in Patna.

The Bihar government imposed a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol on April 5, 2016.

Reacting to the suspected hooch tragedy, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had on Saturday said: “I have been maintaining that liquor is bad and shouldn't be consumed. I have asked officials to take strict action against those who violate prohibition laws”.

Jaiswal also claimed that most of the deceased in Motihari belong to Scheduled Caste and OBCs.

"We will approach the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes for a thorough probe. The NHRC that investigated the hooch tragedy in Saran in December 2022, had concluded that the state government tried to hide figures," the BJP leader claimed.

Many people died in the Saran hooch tragedy in December last year.

The commission, in its report, had dismissed claims of the state government that 42 people had died due to consumption of illicit liquor on December 13-16 last year and said at least 77 lives were lost, while blaming the state authorities for “suppressing toll”.

The Nitish Kumar dispensation also came under severe criticism from its own ally CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation for the alleged police "inaction" into the suspected hooch tragedy in Motihari.

"Strict action must be taken against concerned station house officers (SHOs) of the police stations in whose jurisdiction the suspected hooch deaths took place. They should be held responsible for the sale and purchase of illicit liquor in their respective areas," the Left party said in a statement issued in Patna.

The party also demanded compensation for the family members of the victims, who died in the incident.

The ruling grand alliance in Bihar comprises seven parties - Kumar's JD (U), RJD, Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI, CPI(M) and HAM, which together have more than 160 MLAs in the 243-strong assembly.

The East Champaran district police have so far registered five cases in the suspected hooch tragedy in Motihari and are investigating the matter, the statement said.

Twenty people, “involved in the illegal trade of liquor” have been arrested in Turkauliya, Harsiddhi, Sugauli and Paharpur of Motihari, according to the police statement.

Sixty more people were also apprehended for being "involved in the illegal trade of liquor in the district", it said.

The district police have also seized huge quantities of spurious liquor and other related chemicals following searches at more than 600 places in different parts of Motihari in the last 24 hours.

“Police recovered 370 litres of country-made liquor, 50 litres of spirit and 1,150 litres of other chemicals used in the manufacturing of spurious liquor," the statement added.

Notably, incidents of smuggling of liquor continue to be reported from the state, notwithstanding the ongoing drive against bootleggers.