Digital Desk: With eight more persons passing away since Thursday night and into Friday morning, the death toll from the hooch catastrophe that occurred on Wednesday in Noniatoli under Maker police station in Bihar's Saran district has increased to 11.
Rajesh Meena, the
district magistrate for Saran, has acknowledged that consumption of fake
alcohol may have contributed to the deaths of the 11 persons who have already
passed away. "I have reports regarding the fatalities, and an
investigation is ongoing. The route of smuggled alcohol to the region is being
traced. Niraj Mishra, the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Maker police
station, and the chowkidar of the Phulwaria Bhatha village have been suspended
for selling or smuggling alcohol inside their respective jurisdictions, the
official continued.
Due to subpar
implementation on the ground, the incident showed the futility of the
prohibition drive. In Saran district alone, seven similar instances have been
reported so far this year, resulting in the deaths of close to 25 individuals.
SP Saran According to
Santosh Kumar, a number of persons have been held in this regard, and evidence
is being gathered to determine how the alcohol entered the area and who
supplied it.
We've also talked to
the locals and advised them to report any instances of illegal alcohol
trafficking without hesitation. No unwary individual will experience
harassment. The SP continued by saying that DSPs from Marhaura and Sonpur are
camped in the village and that the police had also spoken to those
hospitalised. He stated, "We have begun an investigation into the
situation.
Locals have protested
the occurrence in the streets by blocking the main route at the intersection
connecting Patna, Siwan, and Muzaffarpur.
Additionally, they
blocked State Highway 73 and National Highway 722 for more than six hours,
delayed traffic, and chanted anti-police and anti-administration slogans
because of their claimed connections to the liquor mafia. They said that
Ramanand Manjhi has been operating an illicit booze production facility nearby
for a number of years with the help of neighbourhood police and excise officers.
Even while concerned officials were aware of the unlawful transaction, they
chose not to intervene.
The irate protesters claimed that the local police and excise department were complicit in the illegal sale and smuggling of alcohol.
The four Mahto brothers—Upendra, Akhilesh, Ramnath, and Chandeshwar—who are patients at the Chhapra Sadar hospital—said their vision dimmed 7-8 hours after ingesting the fake alcohol. We were admitted to the hospital when things got worse, they continued.
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