PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday welcomed a Gopalganj court’s order, awarding death sentence to nine persons and life imprisonment to other four women in a hooch tragedy case.
He said, “Such punishments will create a fear among people that if they commit such irregularities they too will get similar harsh sentences.”
Responding to a media query, Nitish said, “The Gopalganj hooch tragedy was thoroughly investigated (by the police). Based on the investigation, the court has announced sentences to guilty persons. It is a big thing.”
The CM also said that people should understand that liquor ban is in the interest of the common public. "Such types of punishments will have a wide-ranging impact on people,” he said.
Earlier on Friday, the additional district judge, Gopalganj, Luv Kush Kumar awarded death sentence to nine persons and life imprisonment to four women in connection with a hooch tragedy that claimed 19 lives a few months after Bihar went dry in April, 2016.
In a landmark judgment, the court convicted all the 13 surviving accused persons including four women. Altogether 14 people had been named accused in the illicit liquor case and one of them had died pending trial.
A total of 19 people had died in Khajurbani locality of Gopalganj district on August 16, 2016 hours after consuming spurious liquor; just four months after the Nitish Kumar government put a complete ban on sale and consumption of alcohol across the state. The total prohibition was announced on April 5, 2016.
Replying to another query, Nitish said, “The Gopalganj hooch tragedy had happened in 2016, the year when the state government enforced total prohibition across the state. Even that time, I had warned people that if you consume spurious liquor, you will become the victim of death. I had told people not to trust upon the wrong advice of any people.”
The CM further said liquor ban across the state was enforced at the demand of women. Even youths had similar views over prohibition. “The family in which men used to drink liquor, there were a lot of difficulties. Women were being harassed by drunken people. Total prohibition was enforced in the state keeping in mind all these things,” Nitish said adding “The overall situation in the society has improved a lot due to the liquor ban.”
Recalling the recent incidents of hooch deaths, the CM said, “Even these days, frequent incidents of consumption of spurious liquor are reported from few places in the state. The administration takes all necessary actions after conducting a thorough probe into such incidents. I will request all people to remain alert and serious towards the liquor ban. There is no personal gain for me in enforcing the liquor ban. Mahatma Gandhi too was in favour of ban on liquor,” Nitish pointed out.
Nitish also said that he had been reviewing the issues related to liquor ban on a regular basis. “I have decided that senior officials of the home department, police headquarters and the prohibition & excise department will sit together every day in the state headquarters and take feedback from different districts regarding enforcement of liquor ban. They will act together on the basis of inputs received. Now, this is being done every day,” the CM said.