Two truckloads of beer seized in dry Bihar

Two truckloads of beer, passing through Bihar from West Bengal, were seized by police here.

Stringent anti-liquor law is in place in Bihar. The trucks were moving to north Bengal from south and did not have the valid permit while entering Bihar, police said.

"The two trucks, carrying a total of 19,110 litres of beer, were seized last night as permit was given for plying of the vehicles through NH-34 but these vehicles took the shorter route via NH-31," Sub Divisional Police Officer Kamini Bala said.

Also, the trucks were not equipped with digital locks which have been made mandatory for transportation of goods within the state, the SDPO said.

She also said the arrested truck drivers - Sushanto Nath and Ujjwal Mallik - have claimed that they were "misled" by policemen in West Bengal about prohibition in Bihar as a result of which they took the short cut.

Both of them have been arrested and the matter was being investigated, she said adding that the total value of the seized beer was around Rs 30 lakh.

Sale and consumption of alcohol has been completely banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government for the past two years.