Suspected hooch claims 4 lives in Bihar

Bihar Sharif: In yet another suspected hooch tragedy in dry Bihar, four persons have died here after allegedly consuming spurious liquor, triggering shock waves in the headquarters of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's home district of Nalanda, police said on Saturday.

The deceased, all of them in the age group of 50-55 years, belong to Chhoti Pahari and Pahar Talli localities in the Sohsarai Police Station area. Their families have claimed that they consumed liquor late on Friday, fell sick and died.

Bihar Sharif sub-divisional officer Kumar Anurag, who met the bereaved family members, insisted that "consumption of alcohol will be confirmed only after post mortem".

Ban on liquor sale and consumption was imposed in Bihar in April, 2016 though its efficacy has always been questionable.

Last year, around Deepawali, hooch tragedies claimed more than 40 lives in four districts.

One of these districts was West Champaran and on Friday a snide remark by a JD(U) spokesman about Sanjay Jaiswal, the local MP, evoked a strong reaction from the latter who is also the state BJP president.