Bihar: Death Toll Rises to 31 in Hooch Tragedy

Patna: The death toll in the latest hooch tragedy in dry Bihar rose to 31 on Thursday as more than one and a half dozen more people lost their lives in the last 24 hours after allegedly consuming illicit liquor in Saran district. Nearly a dozen people are still battling for their lives in various hospitals, and the toll is likely to rise.

Unlike the district administration officials, who are still reluctant to confirm the cause of these deaths, family members of the victims have been loudly claiming that they died after consuming illicit liquor. They blamed the local police for its failure to implement prohibition law and hand in glove with liquor traders, mainly responsible for one after another hooch incidents in Saran in the last twelve months this year.

As per reports, most of the victims were from villages under Ishuapur, Mashrakh and Amnour police stations in Saran, where they consumed locally made liquor, popularly known as Mahua or Desi Daru, on Monday night. They complained of uneasiness, stomach pain and weakness and started vomiting on Tuesday morning, but their condition deteriorated by afternoon. Nearly half a dozen died on Tuesday night, another half a dozen died during treatment at the hospital on Wednesday, and others died on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Saran Civil Surgeon Dr Sagar Dulal Sinha told NewsClick that till Thursday noon, 22 post-mortem had been conducted in the government-run Sadar hospital in Chapra, the district headquarters town. There is a possibility of some more post-mortems. Sinha said about eight persons were undergoing treatment at Sadar hospital, and there are reports that some people are undergoing treatment in other hospitals, including private. All of them were admitted after their condition deteriorated.

As per reports in local Hindi dailies, some of the hooch tragedy victims were cremated without a post-mortem by their families in a hurry fearing police action against them if they failed to provide information about local liquor suppliers, traders or mafia.

"My husband died after consuming illicit liquor, which is easily available everywhere. Local police have full information about suppliers and those involved in the liquor trade. Still, they hardly take action against them," Sheela Devi, a dalit woman whose husband Harender Ram died after consuming illicit liquor in Mashrakh on Wednesday, told NewsClick.

Sheela Devi said her husband, a daily wage labourer, was the only bread earner.

"Now, who would take care of my seven minor children? Illicit liquor has ended our dream; we will have to struggle for survival."

Similarly, Namuna Devi, whose husband, Umesh Shivpuhan Rai of Amnaur, is another victim, said her husband died after consuming illicit liquor.

"The government is not ready to accept the ground reality of flourishing liquor trade that is mainly responsible for deaths."

Chotu Ram, who lost his elder brother in this hooch tragedy, expressed anger over the government's policy not to compensate the victims' families.

"We have no hope for compensation because the government is insensitive. What an irony is this! The government compensates all except those who died after consuming liquor."

Saran District Magistrate Rajesh Meena told NewsClick that it is not simple to say the exact cause of deaths in the last 48 hours as the matter is under investigation.

"Post-mortems of those who died have been conducted, and only after postmortem reports will we be able to say something."

But Saran superintendent of police Santosh Kumar admitted that dozens of people fell ill and their condition deteriorated. They were rushed to the hospitals after they consumed liquor on Monday night.

"Our ongoing probe into the case suggests that illicit liquor was supplied from a particular village, and most victims had consumed it".

Santosh Kumar said, "Action had been initiated against some local police officers; a DSP was transferred, and two police station officers were suspended in this connection. Police have been raiding different places to arrest those involved in the illegal liquor business. So far, more than two dozen people have been detained in connection with the latest incident."

Meanwhile, as his prohibition policy came under attack, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar created some political flutter as he warned people that if they drink spurious liquor, they may well die, according to a PTI report.

"Jo piyega woh marega" (those who drink spurious alcohol will die), said Kumar, who stood his ground maintaining that prohibition was “not my personal wish but a response to the cries of the women of the state”, said the report.

The Chief Minister also expressed displeasure over criticisms from the opposition BJP which has raised the issue “even inside Parliament”.

Opposition BJP MLAs raised the issue of the hooch tragedy in Saran in the ongoing winter session of the state Assembly too. They staged a protest, targeted Nitish Kumar in and outside the state Assembly, and demanded his resignation.

Nitish Kumar was supported by deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, who reportedly said that result of the wrong action is always wrong.

Tejashwi Yadav also questioned BJP's hue and cry, asking why the party was silent when hooch incidents were reported before August 2022 in the state because it was a ruling ally.

Like in the recent past, most of the Saran hooch tragedy victims were mostly poor and from the working class. It is widely accepted that poor people have been dying after allegedly consuming "desi" illicit liquor, available freely at cheaper rates in rural areas. This trend continued after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar imposed total liquor prohibition in the state in April 2016.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Lenninist Liberation) (CPI(ML)), a key ally of ruling Mahagathbandhan in the state, once again demanded compensation to the families of the victims of the hooch tragedy.

On Thursday, all 12 CPI(ML) MLAs staged a protest outside the state Assembly.

"As the poor and working class are the main victims of the hooch tragedy in Saran, as in other such incidents in the past, we have demanded compensation. Families of the victims deserve it," CPI(ML) MLA Mahboob Alam told NewsClick.

A few months ago, Left leaders had dared the state government to probe into the politician-administration-liquor mafia nexus. This nexus, they claimed, was behind the production and sale of illicit and spurious liquor. Instead of curbing the liquor mafia, the poor are punished through the draconian Prohibition Act.

The leaders said that the government should stop using the prohibition law as a weapon to repress and oppress the poor and override proper medical treatment and de-addiction programs for persons who are addicted by opening description centres.

In more than seven years, one hooch tragedy after another has been reported in the state despite the ban on manufacturing, storage, transportation, sale and consumption of alcohol since April 2016.

Despite the much-hyped use of drones, copters and motorboats by the Kumar-led government to curb the illegal manufacturing and smuggling of liquor in Bihar, hundreds of deaths have been reported in the last three years.

Illicit liquor claimed 95 lives in the state last year, prompting the then-ruling ally BJP to question how manufacturers and traders are freely doing business despite the state government's claim that the police were ensuring prohibition. More than 100 people have died in about 12 hooch tragedies this year.

Earlier this month, the state Cabinet approved a proposal for Rs 1 lakh financial assistance to low-income families involved in the liquor trade to ensure the success of prohibition.

Despite Nitish Kumar and his Cabinet colleagues claiming that prohibition has been 100% successful, reports of liquor traders and manufacturers attacking police teams have increased, and hundreds of litres of liquor are seized every month.