Liquor seized from govt vehicle in dry Bihar; welfare officer, bank manager among 4 held

Police recovered 15 bottles of liquor from a government vehicle and arrested four persons travelling in it in Purnia district of northeast Bihar on Sunday night.

The arrested persons have been identified as district welfare officer Rajesh Verma, senior manager of Punjab National Bank’s Line Bazar branch at Purnia Anand Kumar Jha, district welfare office clerk Kaushal Kumar and railway contractor Sujeet Srivasatava, police said.

Purnia superintendent of police Nishant Tiwary said the liquor bottles were recovered during a routine search of vehicles near Gulabbagh on national highway (NH)-31 in Purnia district, 367 km northeast of Patna.

Police seized 15 bottles of liquor from a government vehicle during a routine search in Bihar’s Purnia district. (HT photo)

A police team, headed by Sadar police station SHO Awadhesh Kumar, stopped an SUV, with district administration written on a plate fitted to it, at about 11pm and recovered 15 bottles Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL), Tiwary said.

Breathalyzer test later confirmed that all occupants of the vehicle had consumed liquor, Tiwary said, adding that they had been arrested and sent to jail.

Purnia district magistrate (DM) Pradeep Kumar Jha said action would be taken against the government officer and clerk after receiving report from the police.

Bihar became a dry state on April 5, last year. Consuming, keeping or dealing in liquor is an offence under the state’s new excise prohibition law, which provides for imprisonment up to 10 years.