Bihar hooch tragedy: Culprits caught as government responds, says Manjhi

Reacting to the recent hooch tragedy in Bihar which claimed the lives of 25 people, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said the state government worked very promptly in the matter and caught the culprits.

"The Bihar government is working very promptly in this matter as the culprits have been caught. Bihar has a population of 13 to 14 crore," Manjhi told reporters when asked about the hooch tragedy.

Manjhi participated in the oath taking ceremony of the Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini here on Thursday.

Notably, Bihar's Director General of Police (DGP), Alok Raj, stated on Thursday that 25 people had died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in two separate incidents in Siwan and Saran and 12 people have been arrested in connection with the case.

 

After the hooch tragedy, opposition leaders have criticised the ineffective enforcement of the liquor ban in the state.

Describing the tragedy as "tragic," Jan Suraj Party chief Prashant Kishor said on Thursday that the state's liquor ban is not enforced anywhere, existing only in government files and political speeches.

"For the past three years, I have been publicly stating on every platform that the liquor ban is not implemented anywhere in Bihar. It only exists in government records and political speeches. Yesterday's incident is deeply unfortunate. Over 70 people died in Chhapra 1.5 years ago. There is no district in Bihar where deaths from poisonous liquor haven't occurred. Many incidents go unreported... Only corrupt leaders and mafias are benefiting from this. The government is so insensitive that, despite so many deaths, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar won't even visit the affected areas," Kishor said.

Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav also criticised the NDA government over the tragedy, and said the state is "no longer secure" under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Tejashwi argued that the liquor ban is only "on paper" and has not been properly enforced. "Bihar is no longer secure under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The double-engine government has completely failed. The liquor ban is merely on paper," the RJD leader told ANI on Thursday.