At least 25 die in Bihar hooch tragedy

At least 25 people have died in a hooch tragedy in the districts of Siwan and Saran in Bihar.

According to Alok Raj, Director General of Police, 20 people have died in Siwan and five in Sara. So far, 12 people have been arrested for allegedly selling spurious liquor. At least 20 people are hospitalised, many of them have reportedly lost their eyesight as a side effect of consuming spurious liquor, reports from Bihar said.

It is understood that the tragedy befell natives of Maghar and Auriya panchayats in Siwan and the locality of Mashrakh in Saran.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation. The Bihar government said more than 150 people have died on account of hooch since the ban on liquor came into force in 2016.

State Prohibition Minister Ratnesh Sada said the stringent "CCA" (crime control act) will be imposed to rein in the liquor mafia. State Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh responded: “Why only CCA? Let them hang the culprits. Let them not spare anybody, even if the suspects happen to be connected with any opposition party.”

In 2022, a hooch tragedy rocked Saran's Mashrakh. While state records put the fatalities at 40, the National Human Rights Commission, which took suo motu cognisance and carried out an investigation, said the casualties were in excess of 70.