20 people have died in Bihar after consuming illicit liquor on Friday night, while half a dozen have been hospitalised in critical condition.
The tragedy, the latest in a series of such deaths since 2016 when the Bihar government banned alcohol in the state, has been reported from Lakshmipur, Paharpur, and Harsiddhi blocks of Motihari, around 150 kilometres northwest of the state capital Patna, reports NDTV.
Sources said a tank carrying spurious liquor was brought to Motihari and distributed among local traders, leading to the tragedy. The death count is expected to increase. Police and administration have refused to comment so far.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been in the crosshairs of the BJP for recurring deaths due to spurious liquor. The Opposition party recently clashed with Kumar after a report released by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on 40 deaths due to poisonous liquor in the Saran district of the state. The reports blamed the administration for the deaths.
Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav had alleged that the rights panel visit was propaganda by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre to defame the state government.
Amid a political slugfest in the Bihar assembly after the Saran deaths, an irate Nitish Kumar had lost his cool and snapped at opposition MLAs who targeted the government over prohibition in the state.
"If someone consumes liquor, they will die - the example is before us. This should be condoled, those places should be visited and people be explained," Nitish Kumar had said.
"Even when there was no liquor ban here, people died due to spurious liquor - even in other states. People should be alert. As there is a liquor ban here, something spurious will be sold, due to which people die. Liquor is bad and shouldn't be consumed," he said in the state assembly.
