'Deaths every hour': 71 dead in Bihar hooch tragedy - 10 points

The Bihar hooch tragedy saw more deaths on Friday even as the Nitish Kumar-led state government reiterated that it will not provide any compensation to the victims' families citing the 'ineffective' excise law.

Chhapra (Bihar): The death toll due to the consumption of toxic liquor in Bihar's Chhapra has risen to 71 with at least 18 more people succumbing since Thursday evening making it the worst tragedy since the prohibition law came into force in 2016.

Hooch is a kind of liquor that is cheap, brewed in small unregulated shanties, and does not attract excise tax. This inferior-quality drink is usually made after mixing chemicals with water, which is then consumed by people.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who is facing the heat from the opposition has reiterated that those who will drink such spurious liquor would die and the state government will not provide them any compensation.

Here are the 10 points in this big story:

1. The fresh deaths were reported from Mashrak, Isuapur, Madhaura and Amnaur blocks of the Saran district. As per sources, the condition of 18 more people is critical and it is feared the death toll may increase. Officials at the hospitals say that they are seeing deaths every hour. "We are seeing deaths every other hour. There are several people admitted in a critical stage," a doctor in a local hospital said wishing anonymity.
2. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar continues to blame people even as he compared the deaths with that of the bridge collapse in Gujarat Morbi last month. "No compensation will be given to people who died after drinking...We have been appealing- if you drink, you will die...those who talk in favour of drinking will not bring any good to you..." said Nitish Kumar in the state assembly on Friday.
3. Nitish made a reference to Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat and alleged that states not ruled by BJP got an unfair portrayal in the media. Rejecting the suggestion with righteous disgust, the CM said that would amount to supporting the vice of drinking and would go against the spirit of the prohibition law.
4. The NHRC has issued notices to the chief secretary and the director general of police of Bihar, seeking a detailed report, including the status of the FIR registered by the police, medical treatment of the victims who are hospitalised, and compensation, if any, granted to the aggrieved families.
5. Most deaths have occurred over Wednesday and Thursday creating an uproar both at the state and national level as sale and consumption of alcohol have been banned in Bihar since April 2016. Nitish Kumar's former ally, BJP, has come down heavily on him.
6. A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking an independent probe by a special investigation team into the hooch tragedy. The petition, filed in the apex court by Bihar-based Aryavarta Mahasabha Foundation, has also sought a direction to the state government to adequately compensate the victims' families. The plea was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, which refused to list it urgently.
7. The plea said ever since the Bihar government prohibited liquor sales in the state in 2016, it has invited scathing criticism for its substantial failure to implement the ban and for several adverse consequences that the move has thrust on the people there.
8. Bihar Assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary on Friday asked the state government to look into the "seizure of a huge quantity of liquor" from the vicinity of the house of a top BJP leader's close relative. The matter was raised on the floor of the House by Congress MLA Shakil Ahmed Khan, whose party is a part of the 'Mahagathbandhan' government in the state.
9. "I came across a media report stating 108 cartons of liquor have been seized from the backyard of a close relative of Vijay Kumar Sinha, the Leader of the Opposition. I promptly brought it to the notice of the Chair," Khan was quoted saying in a news report by PTI.
10. After the day's proceedings were over, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav told reporters, "I am shocked to learn about the huge seizure from the backyard of Sinha's close relative. I don't want to make any allegation as of now. But if the report is true, Sinha may owe a reply."