JD(U) worker, three others die after drinking hooch in ‘dry’ Bihar

The death of four people in Begusarai allegedly after drinking hooch on Sunday has put a big question mark on the total prohibition forcefully promulgated by Nitish Kumar Government over two years ago and also revealed the ground reality regarding the prohibition in “dry” Bihar.

On of the four victims, Manoj Paswan, was reportedly associated with the JD(U) but the Begusarai district JD(U) chief said Paswan had recently joined the rebel faction of the party led by Sharad Yadav and had also attended its meeting in New Delhi. The incident took place on Sunday night at Pakhriya mohalla under town police station in Begusarai town. The four as usual drank illicit liquor and spirit at a deserted place in a stadium. A dozen of empty bottles of spirit were also found there.

When contacted, Begusarai DM Rahul Kumar said he has report of three deaths; two bodies had already been consigned to flames and one body was brought to the hospital for post mortem. Asked if they died of hooch, he said, “We don’t rule out anything at this stage but we are waiting for the medical report to reach a conclusion.” The DM, who was in Patna on Monday in connection with a court case said there were also reports that they were suffering from some disease and were under treatment.