Patna: Four persons died after consuming spurious liquor in Rohtas district of Bihar, following which nine police personnel were placed under suspension on Saturday.
A complete ban on sale and consumption of alcohol was imposed in the state in April last year.
Explanations have been sought from a number of officials regarding the lapse, while the police raided a shop owned by one of the accused and seized liquor bottles.
"An information was received today about the death of four persons, all of them in the age group of 25 to 35 years, after consuming spurious liquor in Danwar village under Kachhwa police station area of Rohtas late last night," a release issued here by the DGP control room said.
A raid conducted at a shop owned by one of the accused -- Antim Lal Singh -- led to the seizure of three bottles of foreign liquor, two litres of country liquor and two kgs of ganja, the release said, adding that a hunt was on for Singh, while his two sisters were being interrogated.
"In view of the serious nature of the incident, a total of nine police personnel have been placed under suspension. Among the suspended police personnel are three inspectors, including the SHO of Kachhwa, Mukesh Kumar, an equal number of sub-inspectors, two constables and one chowkidar," the release said.
"The other constables posted in the police station area have been transferred, while explanations have been sought from Circle Inspector Anil Kumar Singh and Sub-Divisional Police Officer Neeraj Kumar Singh," it added.
Senior officials, including the Inspector General (IG), Patna Zone, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Shahabad Range, and Superintendent of Police (SP), Rohtas, were camping at the spot and supervising the investigations and raids being carried out in connection with the hooch deaths, the release said.
"A speedy trial will be ensured upon the completion of the investigation. There is also a provision for death penalty in such cases," it added.
Earlier, DIG, Shahabad Range, Mohammad Rahman had said three persons had been named as the accused in the case.
Rohtas District Magistrate Animesh Kumar Parashar said the villagers, who had staged a demonstration in the morning demanding action against the erring officials, had been pacified even as the suspension order of an excise department official had been sent to the department's principal secretary, while an explanation had been sought from another.
Meanwhile, opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) launched an attack on the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government in the state, claiming that prohibition was implemented "only on paper".
Former deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav also trained his guns at the BJP and said, "Nitish's current allies used to call the prohibition law in Bihar draconian. Now, they are in power in the state. How will the ruling dispensation muster the moral strength required to strictly enforce the ban on sale and consumption of liquor."
"The suspension of police officials after the death of four persons is an eyewash. The people of the state will teach a befitting lesson to this corrupt and inefficient government at an appropriate time," he added.
