Patna, Nov 8 :The Bihar government has decided to implement the Liquor Prohibition Law strictly in the state with the focus to take action against the mafias and their operators in and outside the state.
Amir Subhani, the chief secretary said that the decision was taken during an assessment meeting headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
“He has directed the officials to arrest the real liquor operators and the receivers in Bihar followed by their quick prosecution. Following his direction, the team will not hesitate to go to other states and arrest accused who are operating liquor smuggling in Bihar,” Subhani said.
“We are focusing on the arrest of those persons who are involved in storage and manufacturing of liquor in Bihar,” Subhani said.
The liquor ban law was imposed in Bihar in April 2016 and was amended in April this year. As per the amended law, a person who is nabbed for the first time on the charge of consuming liquor would get released after depositing a fine. The fine is being accepted only on the condition that the first-time offenders provide the details of the person who supplied the liquor. There is a provision to lodge them in jail for repeating the offence.
“Our goal has been achieved with the amended law. The second-time offenders are booked and sent to jail. Besides, the agencies also know the identities of operators,” he said.
K.K. Pathak, the commissioner of liquor prohibition department said that there were 20,000 offenders who were arrested in October.
“We have used various methods, including a drone system, to locate the manufacturing units in the Diyara area which is located on the other side of Ganga river in Patna. Horse riders and motor boats were also used,” Pathak said.
“In January this year, we arrested 300 offenders per day on average. Now, it has reached 1,200 per day in October. We are expecting that the number may rise to 1,500 in the next three months,” Pathak said.
“We are trying to break the supply chain of liquor outside Bihar. The operators outside Bihar and receivers inside the states are being arrested. In the last 10 months, we have arrested 90 persons from outside the state,” said Amrit Raj, IGP of liquor prohibition department.
(IANS)
