Guwahati: The death toll from the Chhapra Hooch tragedy in Bihar has raised to 50; 11 more died in the Saran district after ingesting fake alcohol.
On the advice of Marhaura Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Yogendra Kumar, Masrakh Station House Officer (SHO) Ritesh Mishra and Constable Vikesh Tiwari were suspended immediately following the incident on Tuesday night.
The Nitish Kumar administration in Bihar has prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol, and the days Wednesday and Thursday have seen the majority of fatalities have sparked outrage on both a state and national level since April 2016.
Nitish Kumar’s former ally, BJP, have come down heavily on him with MPs of the Bharatiya Janata Party from the state raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, when questioned regarding the Chhapra Hooch tragedy, on Thursday told media that “if someone consumes liquor, they will die”, that has not gone down well with victim families among others.
“The liquor ban has benefitted several people. A large number of people have given up alcohol…This is good. Several people have happily accepted this. But there are some troublemakers. I have told officers to identify the actual troublemakers and nab them,” Kumar told the media in Patna.
Bihar Excise Minister Sunil Kumar have also promised stringent action against the culprits responsible for the deaths. “Process of filling an FIR is underway. I have spoken over the phone with SP,” Sunil Kumar had said on Wednesday.
The opposition assailed the Bihar Chief Minister in the state assembly on Wednesday hours after the first few deaths from Chhapra were announced, which caused Kumar to lose his composure and yell at the BJP leaders.
One of the problems brought up in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday was the Chhapra Hooch tragedy, which caused the House to be adjourned three times in a matter of 40 minutes as both the Treasury benches and the opposition brought up their concerns at the same time with the start of the Zero Hour.