Unmask bootleggers to avoid jail, Bihar govt to tipplers

The decision came after Supreme Court asked the state government whether it conducted any study before framing the liquor prohibition law and created a judicial infrastructure adequate to meet the torrent of litigation that was bound to follow as the bail petitions arising out of the Bihar government’s 2016 liquor prohibition law.

Patna: The state government has altered a few clauses in their policy related to the liquor ban, now people drinking alcohol in Bihar will no longer go to jail if they expose bootleggers in the state. Krishna Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, Excise Department shared the details of the decision that is been taken after a review meeting over the issue of the rising number of alcoholics in jails.

The decision came after Supreme Court asked the state government whether it conducted any study before framing the liquor prohibition law and created a judicial infrastructure adequate to meet the torrent of litigation that was bound to follow as the bail petitions arising out of the Bihar government’s 2016 liquor prohibition law.

Earlier, on Sunday, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar while announcing to conduct a survey to count the number of people who quit drinking after going to jail over liquor consumption also claimed that, the Bihar government is committed to implementing a liquor ban successfully in the state and making all-out efforts for it. "We had conducted a de-addiction survey in 2018 and found that 1.64 crore people left liquor consumption. After four years, we are going to conduct the same survey to know how many more persons have overcome the addiction," Kumar said.

Under this survey, the authorities will focus on counting the people who quit liquor after being released from jail. "If anyone dies after consuming liquor, we cannot sympathize with him. Some people in society create a nuisance. Our police, excise, and liquor prohibition department will handle them," he said.

The Bihar government had implemented the liquor prohibition law in 2016 under which sale, drinking, and manufacturing of liquor is prohibited in Bihar. Initially, under this law, there was a provision for attachment of property and even life imprisonment, but after the amendment in 2018, the punishment was given some relaxation.

Since the implementation of the Liquor prohibition law in Bihar, as per the data of the Bihar Police Headquarters, more than 3 lakh cases related to the prohibition of liquor have been registered. The Excise Department and Prohibition Department had reviewed the ongoing liquor ban and came up with new changes in the law.

The state authorities are currently using drones, helicopters, satellite phones, motorboats, horses, dog squads to monitor the activities of liquor mafias.
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