India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma
The death toll in Bihar’s spurious liquor tragedy reached 75 on Tuesday. Raids were conducted under Operation Clean Drive in Patna, Danapur, Saran and Muzaffarpur to seize illicit liquor on Sunday and Monday. Several people, including women working for the local liquor mafia, attacked an Excise Department team in West Champaran’s Dhangar Toli, injuring two people.
The Special Investigation Team arrested local liquor baron Akhilesh Rai alias Yadav from Isuapur in Saran district and recovered Rs 2.17 lakh in cash from his stated locations. More than 28 people associated with liquor business have been arrested from Saran district alone. 31 people have lost their eyesight after drinking spurious liquor.
In India TV’s prime time show ‘Aaj Ki Baat’ aired on Monday night, we showed how police used drone cameras to search country liquor distilleries. Rajwinder Singh Bhatti has taken over as the Director General of Police of Bihar Police and is overseeing the ongoing operation against the liquor mafia. For the first time, the police entered the jungle area of the islets (diyara) in the middle of the river Ganga to locate the distilleries. Police used boats to cross the Mo River and reach the distilleries. By the way, generally the police were afraid to go here even during the day time. The police destroyed several distilleries, but the liquor mafia businessmen managed to escape. Why? Had someone informed them in advance?
India TV reporters Nitish Chandra and Pawan Nara accompanied police raiding teams to the forested area of Diyara in the middle of the river. The quantity of liquor seized is enough to disprove the government’s claim that the prohibition law was being strictly implemented in the state for the last six years. Opposition leaders are alleging that more than 100 people have died due to spurious liquor during the last one week, but the needle of government figures is stuck at 38.
The Bihar Police knew that illegal liquor was being manufactured in the islands built in the vast area of the river Ganga. Using drone cameras, the raiding team went at least 3.5 kilometers deep into the catchment area at one point between Patna and Chhapra and unearthed the base for brewing the spurious liquor. There was not a single liquor smuggler then. Only drums and jars filled with illicit liquor were seized. The entire raid operation was videographed. Since 20,000 liters of illicit spurious liquor was seized and it was difficult to transport it by boats, the police dumped the seized liquor into the river. The police set fire to empty drums and other brewing equipment.
The police also destroyed a big base of illegal liquor on the island of Rampur Son river in Maner of Patna. Here thousands of liters of poisonous liquor were kept hidden in drums and polythene bags, while hundreds of liters of liquor were hidden underground. Police could arrest only 6 people involved in the business of making spurious liquor in Maner.
In a densely populated locality of Danapur, near the Digha AIIMS flyover, the police seized drums, gallons and polythene bags filled with mahua, jawa and jaggery by digging a pit under the ground. A police officer said that a similar action was taken here two days ago, at that time all the goods were seized, but within 48 hours, the making of spurious liquor was resumed. In Muzaffarpur, police seized 112 cartons of 960 liters of foreign liquor from a pick-up van near Ramnagar Chowk.
The Nitish government may claim that such raids are proof of their determination to root out the liquor mafia, but I think these raids are just a show.
India TV reporter Nitish Chandra stayed with the police raiding teams throughout the day on Monday and sent videos which clearly showed the liquor mafia running rampant in those areas. Even the policemen were afraid to go there. A few days ago, there was firing between two groups of sand mafia on Diyara of river Ganges. Five people died, but the police kept watching helplessly on the banks of the river. The killers ran away fearlessly and after a long time the police mustered up the courage to pick up the dead bodies.
It is an open secret for the last 6 years that where the police raided on Monday, illegal liquor business was going on for a long time. For the last 6 years, the liquor mafia was fearlessly making illegal liquor in furnaces using all the tools in the open. Bihar Police had drones, boats and sufficient staff for action. The prohibition law was not made recently. This was not the first time people were dying from poisoned wine. This is not the first time that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has taken a pledge to root out the liquor business. But when so many deaths happened at once, the national media started showing the dead bodies of the victims, the opposition surrounded the government and Nitish Kumar’s image of ‘good governance’ was exposed, the police took out their rifles, drones and boats and started selling liquor. Reached to destroy the furnaces.
Had the same action been taken by the police years ago, hundreds of families would not have cried for their loved ones today. So many pyres would not have been lit. Hundreds of children would not have been orphans. Bihar’s Excise Minister Sunil Kumar still stands by his claim that only 38 people have died due to spurious liquor. The minister accused the media of “exaggerating the case”. He started counting the figures of deaths due to illegal liquor in other states as compared to Bihar, but his own ally Congress is not ready to accept his figures as truth.
Congress leader Ajit Sharma said, more than 100 people are expected to die due to consumption of illicit liquor. RJD MLA Kedarnath Singh said that the minister’s claim is false. He said, in Chhapra alone, more than 60 people have died due to spurious liquor. The opposition has demanded that the government should come out with the correct facts and figures about the deaths due to spurious liquor. Legislators of the CPI (ML) supporting the government protested on Monday over the deaths due to spurious liquor.
Despite the hue and cry over the deaths, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar continues to maintain that death by spurious liquor is not a new thing. He said, such deaths happen everywhere and Bihar is being defamed unnecessarily. The Chief Minister is adamant that his government will not give compensation to the families of the victims. But now when the matter has become serious, RJD, JDU, Congress and Left MLAs are also demanding compensation.
BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh said, Nitish Kumar is making weak arguments and trying to mislead people on the issue of prohibition. He jokingly said, “Poisonous liquor is being manufactured and sold under the very nose of the government. This is a living proof of the failures of his government. Police station should stop everything. Whoever commits the crime will himself go to jail.
Giriraj Singh’s point is correct. Nitish Kumar is giving wrong arguments, lying to save his so called clean image. If Nitish Kumar says, “The one who drinks will die”, then the question is whether the one who will drink will enjoy. Those who drank the poisoned liquor lost their lives, their children became orphans and their wives became widows. She is facing the punishment of the government’s indifference, negligence, corruption and collusion with the mafia. Why should these victims not be compensated? These victims did not drink alcohol. He has not committed any sin. In 2016, when people died due to consumption of spurious liquor in Gopalganj, Nitish Kumar’s government gave Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased. Are the compensation rules different for the people of Gopalganj and Chhapra?
The bitter truth is that Nitish Kumar is trying his best to hide the failure of his government. Their names and details are there in the list of 75 people who died but their government stuck to the figure of 38 deaths. Pressure is being made on the family members to perform the last rites of the dead bodies without post-mortem. Instead of expressing condolences, the government is making fun of the families of the deceased. The MLAs of the parties supporting the government are also worried, but the smile on Nitish Kumar’s face remains intact. At the time of tragedy, the people of Bihar will not tolerate such laughter. People are openly questioning whether this is the ‘good governance’ of Nitish Kumar? (Rajat Sharma)
Watch: Aaj Ki Baat With Rajat Sharma full episode of December 19, 2022
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