AT LEAST 5 persons have died allegedly after consuming spurious liquor in Bala Village in Lakari Nabiganj of Siwan district in Bihar, while seven persons have been taken seriously ill. "Death toll rises to five and 16 persons arrested so far. Further probe underway," read the official notification.
Earlier today, district magistrate Amit Kumar Pandey said that the cause of the death will be ascertained only after an autopsy report.
"A total of three people have died after allegedly drinking spurious liquor in Siwan's Lakari Nabiganj. Seven people are undergoing treatment. Ten people have also been arrested in this connection."
Siwan spurious liquor deaths | Death toll rises to five. 16 persons arrested so far. Further probe underway#Bihar pic.twitter.com/L28UIRJr7w
— ANI (@ANI) January 23, 2023
The deceased have been identified as Naresh Bin, Janak Bin, Rajesh Rawat, and Dhurendra Manjhi. While Naresh died in the village itself, three other persons died on their way from Siwan Sadar Hospital to Patna.
Notably, the incident has come to light days after the Bihar Police recovered illicit liquor bottles hidden in a gutter in Danapur on December 21 last year. Ever since the case of deaths due to spurious liquor has come to the fore, the district administration has started running camps in the village.
Previously in December last year, spurious liquor claimed the lives of over 50 people in Bihar's Chhapra and at least five people died after allegedly consuming hooch in the adjoining Siwan district. Angry family members of the deceased had obstructed the Siwan-Chapra Malmalia main road and undertook a protest. The bodies of the deceased were transported to Sadar Hospital in Siwan.
The deaths also caused an uproar both at the state and national levels with opposition leaders attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the deaths and he, in turn, reiterating in the assembly "piyoge to maroge".(If you drink you will die).
