Bihar: At least five dead, four critical after consuming illicit liquor in Rohtas

At least five people were killed and four others were in critical condition on Saturday after consuming illicit liquor in Danwar village of Bihar's Rohtas district, according to reports.Shahabad Deputy Inspector General of Police Mohd Rehman confirmed the incident and suspended the Station House Officer, reported ANI. Rehman further said that strict action will also be taken against the excise department.[caption id="attachment_3776799" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image[/caption]This is not the first case of people consuming illicit liquor in Bihar, which was declared a dry state by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. As many as 13 people died last year under mysterious circumstances at a village in Gopalganj district of Bihar. They had allegedly consumed illicit liquor.The police later recovered 1,000 litres of illegal country-made liquor in Gopalganj. The liquor was stored in big barrels hidden in a cavity dug in the farmland and a house, India Today had reported.Nitish Kumar announced a ban on the sale and consumption of country liquor in the state in April 2016. After the Patna High Court quashed his order on prohibition, he came out with a new law banning liquor with harsher provisions like the arrest of all adults in the event of recovery of the contraband in their house.According to official reports, ever since total prohibition was imposed on 5 April 2016 in Bihar, the government has seized around 9.15 lakh litres of liquor, out of which eight lakh litres is still in the storerooms of various police stations in the state.Over 45,000 people have been arrested in a year in Bihar for violating the liquor prohibition law imposed by the state.