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”.