Monday 05 / May / 2025
Gopalganj (Bihar): Twelve persons have died after suspected consumption of spurious liquor in Gopalganj district of Bihar, where prohibition was implemented in April, even as authorities claimed that the reason behind the deaths is not clear and ordered a probe.
"Twelve persons have died so far. The deaths have been reported from different areas of five police stations of the district in the past 24 hours.
One person is admitted at a Sadar hospital," Gopalganj District Magistrate Rahul Kumar said.
Asked whether the deaths were the result of consumption of illicit liquor, he said some family members alleged that the persons had consumed spurious liquor on Tuesday evening after which they died while some other relatives of the deceased gave in writing that they did not die because of spurious liquor.
A single reason may not be the cause of the deaths with the deaths having been reported at different time from different locations under five police stations of Majha,Thawe, Yadavpur, Sidhwalia and kotwali here, Kumar said.
A probe has been ordered into the deaths to find out if consumption of spurious liquor was the reason in some cases, he added.
"The team would conduct probe from all angles," he said.
Of the 12, the administration has taken possession of the bodies of five persons from their relatives for carrying out postmortem as the remaining seven bodies have already been cremated by the relatives, Kumar said.
"As of now, we cannot say the exact reason behind the incident. We can tell you only after getting the medical (post mortem) report, statements of relatives of the deceased and raids," the District Magistrate said.
Attacking Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his "Tuglaqi" diktat, BJP on Wednesday demanded he take responsibility for the death of 12 persons due to suspected consumption of spurious liquor.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain accused the state government of working to cover up the reason for these deaths, but said the party supported prohibition.
Taking a dig at Kumar over his prohibition pitch in various parts of the country, he told a press conference that people of Bihar had elected him with a lot of hope and believed his many promises but he "discusses nothing but prohibition".
"Prohibition can be effective only when there is a rule of law. His (Kumar) responsibility does not end with merely enacting a law.He has failed in stopping trade of illicit liquor from across the state's borders. Bihar government is busy in covering up these deaths. It is not about formulating policy but having a clean conscience as well," he said.
Criticising Kumar for the law that entails imprisonment and fine for members of a household or an entire village if prohibition law is violated, Hussain said BJP is not in support of such "Tuglaqi" (dictatorial) edicts.
Asked if BJP supported prohibition across the country, he said it was a state-specific issue and the party was evaluating experiences in different states.
What happened in Bihar is also an experience, he said, referring to the deaths.
