Two die, three lose eyesight after consuming hooch in Bihar's Muzaffarpur

Two people lost their lives and three others were left blind after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district on Sunday. Police said the deceased were identified as Umesh Shah and Dharmendra Ram. Police said after receiving word of the suspected spurious liquor deaths, a team reached the spot to carry out further investigation. The police informed further that two people were arrested in connection with the suspected spurious liquor deaths. “We received information that two people died after health took a turn for the worse all of a sudden. Preliminary inquiry has revealed that they had consumed countrymade liquor. We have arrested two persons in connection with these deaths,” Muzaffarpur SP Abhishek Dixit told ANI. In April earlier this year, spurious liquor claimed the lives of 27 people in Bihar’s Motihari. Motihari SP Kantesh Kumar Mishra suspended five station house officers (SHOs), 2 Anti-Liquor Task Force (ALTF) personnel, and 9 police watchmen (chowkidars) in the wake of the suspected hooch deaths. Speaking on the deaths, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, provided they give a written undertaking to abide by the state’s prohibition policy. “The deaths are unfortunate. We’ll provide Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased from the CM Relief Fund. However, they should also give us an undertaking in writing that they are in favour of the liquor ban currently in force in the state and that they are against liquor addiction,” the Bihar CM said. Nitish Kumar’s government imposed the liquor ban across the state under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, of 2016.