Siwan/Saran (Bihar): The death toll in the Bihar hooch tragedy has reached 32 as several people had to be hospitalised after consuming spurious liquor in Siwan and Saran districts on Wednesday.
While the administration has only confirmed the death of four people in Siwan and two in Chhapra city of Saran, sources said at least 32 people have lost their lives in the twin districts in the last 24 hours.
Sources told ETV Bharat that at least 49 people who had consumed illicit liquor are being treated in hospitals, with many of them in critical condition. In Maghar village of Bhagwanpur police station area in Siwan, the health of several people started to deteriorate on Wednesday after they allegedly drank from plastic bags containing poisonous liquor on Tuesday.
Officials did not disclose the identity of the deceased and those under treatment. Several people were admitted to local hospitals after complaining of vomiting, abdominal pain and blurred vision. According to the hospital administration, the condition of 29 people in Siwan and 10 people in Saran is critical. At the same time, one from Saran and 4 from Siwan have been referred to PMCH in Patna in critical condition.
SIT formed for investigation
The Saran administration has formed a Special Investigation Team to investigate the case. Saran DM Aman Sameer said that they are waiting for postmortem and viscera reports. The police have arrested two people so far.
"The identification of the deceased and the investigation of the case is ongoing. Two people have been arrested so far. An SIT team has been formed to probe the deaths, which will investigate the incident," Sameer said.
Meanwhile, the district administration has suspended two chowkidars of Maghar and Auriya panchayats following the incident, the DM said, adding, "Departmental action will also be initiated against the officials of the local police station."
The sale and consumption of alcohol was banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016. The Bihar government recently admitted that more than 150 people have died due to consumption of illicit liquor after prohibition was imposed in the state in April 2016.
'He could not see anything'
A relative of one of the deceased said that his relative's health deteriorated after he had consumed alcohol on October 15. "He had consumed alcohol on October 15 and his health started deteriorating yesterday evening. He could not see anything, we brought him here to the hospital after that," said the relative.
Opposition attacks Nitish Govt
The opposition RJD has launched an attack on the Nitish Kumar government questioning how the spurious liquor was made available while there was prohibition in the state.
"People have lost their lives by drinking spurious liquor. It is very sad and a matter of concern that despite the liquor ban law being in force in Bihar, spurious liquor is available. Every time during Holi and Diwali, it is seen how people die due to spurious liquor. The NDA government is directly responsible for this. The liquor mafias have the protection of the government and as long as they have the protection of the government, the prohibition law will be violated in the same way. This NDA government is not concerned about this. How is spurious liquor available in this way when the liquor ban law is in force?" RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said.
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