News Analysis India

Tag: liquor

  • Suspected hooch claims nine lives in Bihar’s Saran district

    Express News Service

    PATNA: At least nine people died and 28 others were taken ill after consuming spurious liquor in Bihar’s Saran district in the last two days. The survivors, 14 of them lost their eyesight, have been admitted to the government hospitals in Saran and Patna districts.

    The incident happened at Dhanuk Tola under Maker police station area in Saran district. Altogether 37 people had consumed country liquor after ‘puja’ at the village late on Wednesday night. Two of them died soon after reaching home on Wednesday night.

    Others also complained of vomiting, abdomen pain and losing their eyesight. They were rushed to Sadar hospital at Chhapra, where six of them were referred to the Patna Medical College and Hospital. Two died on way to the hospital. Five more victims died at PMCH during treatment.

    Saran district magistrate Rajesh Meena and superintendent of police Santosh Kumar visited the village and inquired about the incident. The DM later said that prime facie it appeared to be a case of suspected hooch.

    “A medical team and para-medical staff have been sent to the affected village to ascertain the causeof death,” he added.

    The family members and relatives of the victims told the police that the condition of the victims deteriorated after they returned home in drunken state late on Wednesday night. “They used to consume alcohol on earlier occasions also. But nothing of that sort happened earlier,” a relative of one of the victimssaid.

    The deceased were identified as Chandan Mahto (25), Kamal Mahto (45), Omnath Mahto (28), Chandeshwar Mahto (60), Rajnath Mahto (45), Sakaldil Mahto (50), Dhaniklal Mahto (55), Vishwanath Mahto (65) and Chandeshwar Mahto (40).

    Locals said that 14 people have already lost their eyesight. Those who lost their eyesight have been identified as Jailal Mahto, Bholi Mahto, Chandeshwar Mahto, Upendra Mahto, Devnath Mahto, Prem Mahto, Raj Kumar Mahto, Lakhan Mahto, Kameshwar Mahto, Ram Pukar Mahto, Guddu Kumar, Munilal Mahto, Gyanchand Mahto and Guru Mahto.

    They were stated to be residents of Phulwaria and Bhatha Nonia Toli under Maker police station in Saran district.

    A senior police officer said that one suspect has been arrested by the police in connection with the suspected hooch tragedy.

    The state had come under total prohibition on April 4, 2016.

    PATNA: At least nine people died and 28 others were taken ill after consuming spurious liquor in Bihar’s Saran district in the last two days. The survivors, 14 of them lost their eyesight, have been admitted to the government hospitals in Saran and Patna districts.

    The incident happened at Dhanuk Tola under Maker police station area in Saran district. Altogether 37 people had consumed country liquor after ‘puja’ at the village late on Wednesday night. Two of them died soon after reaching home on Wednesday night.

    Others also complained of vomiting, abdomen pain and losing their eyesight. They were rushed to Sadar hospital at Chhapra, where six of them were referred to the Patna Medical College and Hospital. Two died on way to the hospital. Five more victims died at PMCH during treatment.

    Saran district magistrate Rajesh Meena and superintendent of police Santosh Kumar visited the village and inquired about the incident. The DM later said that prime facie it appeared to be a case of suspected hooch.

    “A medical team and para-medical staff have been sent to the affected village to ascertain the cause
    of death,” he added.

    The family members and relatives of the victims told the police that the condition of the victims deteriorated after they returned home in drunken state late on Wednesday night. “They used to consume alcohol on earlier occasions also. But nothing of that sort happened earlier,” a relative of one of the victims
    said.

    The deceased were identified as Chandan Mahto (25), Kamal Mahto (45), Omnath Mahto (28), Chandeshwar Mahto (60), Rajnath Mahto (45), Sakaldil Mahto (50), Dhaniklal Mahto (55), Vishwanath Mahto (65) and Chandeshwar Mahto (40).

    Locals said that 14 people have already lost their eyesight. Those who lost their eyesight have been identified as Jailal Mahto, Bholi Mahto, Chandeshwar Mahto, Upendra Mahto, Devnath Mahto, Prem Mahto, Raj Kumar Mahto, Lakhan Mahto, Kameshwar Mahto, Ram Pukar Mahto, Guddu Kumar, Munilal Mahto, Gyanchand Mahto and Guru Mahto.

    They were stated to be residents of Phulwaria and Bhatha Nonia Toli under Maker police station in Saran district.

    A senior police officer said that one suspect has been arrested by the police in connection with the suspected hooch tragedy.

    The state had come under total prohibition on April 4, 2016.

  • Liquor shortage in Delhi likely from Monday

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Uncertainty prevailed over the availability of liquor in the national capital as the private liquor stores in Delhi were scheduled to shut shop from Monday after the expiry of their licences.

    Sources, however, claimed that Delhi government was likely to come out with a notification by late Sunday night, allowing liquor stores currently running in the city to remain open till August end.

    “This was needed as the government has decided to revert to old excise policy regime and run stores through its agencies, a process that could create shortage and chaos as the new shops will take days to open,” said a government source.

    The government on Saturday announced reverting back to the old excise regime and running stores for six months.

    Under the Excise Policy 2021-22, 468 retail liquor stores were running in the city whose licences will expire after July 31.

    Many liquor vends in the city, however, were closed after selling out stocks through rebates and special schemes like buy one get two free.

    “There is some more liquor and beer available and people are coming to get whatever they can. Those asking for specific brands have returned back empty-handed also,” said a liquor store manager in Laxmi Nagar.

    The rush was more on Saturday but with liquor stores running out of stock, customers have now started looking to neighbouring Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad for their quota, said a customer Vivek outside a closed liquor vend in Delhi’s Shekh Sarai.

    ALSO READ | BJP wants to create shortage of liquor to run illegal trade: Sisodia

    A banker from Mayur Vihar Extension said he used to get his favourite brands available locally but now the stocks were run out.

    “The shops in the nearby mall have run out of stock and left with almost nothing. Now, I will ask friends in Noida, and Gurgaon to keep me stocked up till shops here run normally again,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Delhi government Corporations that were earlier in retail business of liquor before new Excise Policy 2021-22 was implemented in November 2021, have started activating their system to open liquor stores.

    The four corporations-DSIIDC, DTTDC, DCCWS and DSCSC- ran 475 liquor stores out of a total 864 in Delhi under the old excise policy regime. The private store licences held by individuals numbered 389.

    “A DSIIDC official informed that around 90 shops of liquor were run by the Corporation on rent. Several of those rented premises are still vacant where the liquor stores can be opened. But the whole process from getting requisite licences and placing the order for stocks will take 4-5 days,” he said.

    Another Corporation DTTDC has also contacted around 40 owners of private premises where it earlier operated liquor stores. Prior to the new excise policy 2021, DTTDC ran 122 shops liquor, officials said.

    The Excise Policy 2021-22 extended by the government till July 31 was withdrawn in the backdrop of a CBI probe recommended by the Lt Governor into alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses in its implementation.

    ALSO READ | Delhi government withdraws new excise policy; 468 private liquor shops to be shut from August 1

    The policy was extended twice since April this year, as the government was still working on a revised excise policy for 2022-23 for which necessary approvals were yet to be taken.

    Under the Excise Policy, the government had issued retail licences for 849 vends across the city divided into 32 zones. Currently, only 468 were running whose licences will expire on July 31 as the policy has been withdrawn by the government.

    With new policy gone, the excise licences issued to hotels, clubs and restaurants having bars, and wholesale operations will also become redundant apart from private run liquor stores in the city.

    It means, there will be virtually no liquor supply from the wholesalers to the entire hospitality sector and retail vends in the city after July 31, till some alternate arrangements are made by the government, liquor trade experts claimed.

    Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who also holds Excise portfolio had said announcing withdrawal of Excise policy on Saturday that the Chief Secretary was directed to ensure that there was no “chaos” in the city during the transition period before opening of government liquor stores.

    The Chief Secretary was also asked for keeping a check on the sale of illegal alcohol in the city in the meantime, Sisodia had said.

    NEW DELHI: Uncertainty prevailed over the availability of liquor in the national capital as the private liquor stores in Delhi were scheduled to shut shop from Monday after the expiry of their licences.

    Sources, however, claimed that Delhi government was likely to come out with a notification by late Sunday night, allowing liquor stores currently running in the city to remain open till August end.

    “This was needed as the government has decided to revert to old excise policy regime and run stores through its agencies, a process that could create shortage and chaos as the new shops will take days to open,” said a government source.

    The government on Saturday announced reverting back to the old excise regime and running stores for six months.

    Under the Excise Policy 2021-22, 468 retail liquor stores were running in the city whose licences will expire after July 31.

    Many liquor vends in the city, however, were closed after selling out stocks through rebates and special schemes like buy one get two free.

    “There is some more liquor and beer available and people are coming to get whatever they can. Those asking for specific brands have returned back empty-handed also,” said a liquor store manager in Laxmi Nagar.

    The rush was more on Saturday but with liquor stores running out of stock, customers have now started looking to neighbouring Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad for their quota, said a customer Vivek outside a closed liquor vend in Delhi’s Shekh Sarai.

    ALSO READ | BJP wants to create shortage of liquor to run illegal trade: Sisodia

    A banker from Mayur Vihar Extension said he used to get his favourite brands available locally but now the stocks were run out.

    “The shops in the nearby mall have run out of stock and left with almost nothing. Now, I will ask friends in Noida, and Gurgaon to keep me stocked up till shops here run normally again,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Delhi government Corporations that were earlier in retail business of liquor before new Excise Policy 2021-22 was implemented in November 2021, have started activating their system to open liquor stores.

    The four corporations-DSIIDC, DTTDC, DCCWS and DSCSC- ran 475 liquor stores out of a total 864 in Delhi under the old excise policy regime. The private store licences held by individuals numbered 389.

    “A DSIIDC official informed that around 90 shops of liquor were run by the Corporation on rent. Several of those rented premises are still vacant where the liquor stores can be opened. But the whole process from getting requisite licences and placing the order for stocks will take 4-5 days,” he said.

    Another Corporation DTTDC has also contacted around 40 owners of private premises where it earlier operated liquor stores. Prior to the new excise policy 2021, DTTDC ran 122 shops liquor, officials said.

    The Excise Policy 2021-22 extended by the government till July 31 was withdrawn in the backdrop of a CBI probe recommended by the Lt Governor into alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses in its implementation.

    ALSO READ | Delhi government withdraws new excise policy; 468 private liquor shops to be shut from August 1

    The policy was extended twice since April this year, as the government was still working on a revised excise policy for 2022-23 for which necessary approvals were yet to be taken.

    Under the Excise Policy, the government had issued retail licences for 849 vends across the city divided into 32 zones. Currently, only 468 were running whose licences will expire on July 31 as the policy has been withdrawn by the government.

    With new policy gone, the excise licences issued to hotels, clubs and restaurants having bars, and wholesale operations will also become redundant apart from private run liquor stores in the city.

    It means, there will be virtually no liquor supply from the wholesalers to the entire hospitality sector and retail vends in the city after July 31, till some alternate arrangements are made by the government, liquor trade experts claimed.

    Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who also holds Excise portfolio had said announcing withdrawal of Excise policy on Saturday that the Chief Secretary was directed to ensure that there was no “chaos” in the city during the transition period before opening of government liquor stores.

    The Chief Secretary was also asked for keeping a check on the sale of illegal alcohol in the city in the meantime, Sisodia had said.

  • Failing to get ‘kick’, MP man complains of liquor adulteration; excise official assures probe

    By PTI

    UJJAIN: A 42-year-old man from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh has complained to authorities about a shop allegedly selling him adulterated liquor as he did not get a “kick” after consuming it, following which the excise commissioner here has asked officials to conduct a probe into the matter and take action accordingly.

    Lokesh Sothia, a resident of Bahadur Ganj area in Ujjain, in his complaint said he bought four sealed ‘quarter’ bottles of country liquor from a shop here on April 12.

    “My friend and I consumed liquor from two of those bottles (each of 180 ml), but I did not feel high (intoxicated),” Sothia, who operates a parking lot, told PTI.

    The man claimed the bottles contained water instead of liquor.

    “I have kept the two other bottles intact, to be submitted as proof when required. There had been reports of adulteration in food, oil and other things, now it is being done in liquor as well. This is very disturbing. I am going to move the consumer forum,” Sothia said, adding that he has been consuming liquor for last two decades and is “well aware of its taste and quality”.

    The man said he has sent a complaint to Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra and Ujjain Excise Commission Inder Singh Damor about the “adulterated liquor” sold to him.

    When contacted, Damor told PTI on Saturday that he has asked an official to look into Sothia’s complaint.

    “After the probe, action will be taken accordingly,” he added.

    Sothia’s lawyer Narendra Singh Dhakde said they would file a cheating case in a consumer forum.

    “My client runs a paid parking lot. He has been drinking for many years and knows the difference between genuine and fake liquor,” the lawyer said.

  • Nine dead after consuming spurious liquor in Raebareli

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Nine persons lost their lives and 29 others have falled ill after consuming spurious liquor in Pure Chatta Singh village under Paharpur Majra in Maharajganj police station area of Rae Bareli district, 80 km from the state capital.

    The tragedy occurred on Tuesday night when four persons had died after consuming spurious liquor at a function. However, the toll went up to nine on Wednesday.

    According to Rae Bareli District Magistrate Vaibhav Srivastava, the body of the deceased was sent for an autopsy and a probe was ordered into the incident. An FIR has also been lodged against the licensed shop which had supplied the liquor to the villagers.

    As per the police sources, those who lost life were identified as Chandra Gopal, 45, Raj Babu, 30, Qasim, 35, Saroj, 40, Pankaj, 38, Ram Sumer, 46, Sukhrani, 60, Bansi Lal, 50 and Kallu, 53. Two of the deceased Raj Babu and Qasim had come to the village from Chhatarpur, MP and Hamirpur respectively. The rest of the victims belonged to Raebareli.

    According to district police officials, around 40 persons had consumed the liquor in the function. Seven persons including an elderly woman had died in the wee hours while two others lost life at the local Community Health Centre.

    According to Raebarli police chief Shlok Kumar, the FIR was lodged against Dhirendra Pal Singh, the local liquor shop owner and his executive under charges of murder, food adulteration, mixing and selling noxious substances with intoxicants. The shop owner along with his salesman is absconding and police teams are out to nab them, said the SP.

    Meanwhile taking cognisance of the issue, UP DGP Mukul Goel directed IG Lucknow range Lakshmi Singh to visit the spot and conduct a thorough probe into the incident. On the other, Additional Chief Secretary, Excise, Sanjay Bhoosreddy said that action would be taken against district excise officers including Rajeshwar Maurya who would be charge-sheeted while Excise Inspector Ajay Kumar and constable Dhirendra Srivastava were suspended in connection with the incident.

  • MP: Liquor outlets ordered to give cash receipts on purchases from September 1

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: At least 3,300 shops selling Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and country liquor in Madhya Pradesh will give cash receipts to customers on purchases from September 1 onwards, an official said on Friday.

    The state excise department has cracked down on liquor stores, some run by powerful liquor lobbies in the state, following complaints from tipplers that they were being duped on prices, the official said.

    “Is it not strange that people are not getting cash receipts in return for liquor purchase? I have been trying to push for the cash receipt system for a year now,” Madhya Pradesh excise commissioner Rajeev Dubey said. The move saw resistance from liquor shop owners, but finally the department prevailed, he said.

    Liquor shop owners will be putting up boards at their outlets, with the phone number of the area in-charge excise officer, who can be contacted in case of grievances about prices and other issues, Dubey said.

    “It was hard for us to penalise liquor shop owners who sold spirits at rates above maximum sale price for want of proof, ” the official said, adding that the new cash receipt system will come into effect from September 1.

    There are at least 1,300 IMFL and 2,000 country-made liquor shops in Madhya Pradesh, Dubey said. The state government earned a revenue of more than Rs 9,000 crore from liquor sale annually, he added.

    The excise department’s decision on cash receipt will bring uniformity in the prices of liquor, especially in the state capital, and put an end to cheating, a customer in Bhopal said.

  • Bihar completes five years of total ban on liquor amidst criticism and compliments

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar claimed of positive impact due to the total prohibition of liquor as the State completes five years of ban on April 5.

    The five years saw a huge number of arrests involving suppliers,liquor peddlers and seizures of both country-made and India -Made Foreign Liquor(IMFL).

    CM Nitish Kumar had declared the total ban of sale and consumption of liquor with effect from April 5 in 2016. Since then, the state police along with the officials of state excise and prohibition wings continued raiding places to check the supply, sale and smuggling of liquor leading to arrest to record number of people on the charges of being involved in anti-prohibition activities.

    In between all these efforts taken to ensure the total ban on liquor, many suspected deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor continued reported from across the state.

    Till today, the Opposition continues to attack the ruling NDA government, led by Nitish Kumar, for prohibition dubbing it as a ‘damp squib’.

    The recent report of suspected death came from Nawada where 14 persons died by consuming liquor during the Holi.

    But Dr Archana Kumari, an educationist and social researcher, said that the prohibition has saved millions of homes from being ruined by the alcoholism since 2016.

    Buoyed over the success in prohibition for more proper monitoring, the state government created a separate post of IG (Prohibition) now posting an upright IPS officer Amrit Raj. Raj continued wrecking havoc on liquor mafias and arrested a dozen of them from outside the state also on the charges of supplying liquor in Bihar through state-based liquor suppliers.

    “From April 1 in 2016 to 20-3-2021, a total 212015 cases of violation of prohibition were lodged by police and a total 279360 persons including many mafias and liquor suppliers have been arrested in the state,” the ADG ADG (HQ) Jitendra Kumar claimed.

    Quoting figures of seizure till March 20, 2021, the ADG said that more than 1.7 lakh crore litres of liquor were seized.

    Maintaining zero tolerance against the laxity in duty in ensuring it, actions were taken against 644 police officers and personnel so far, in which 135 police personnel and officers have been discharged from their services.

    “We have also debarred 59 police officers from being posted as SHOs for next 10 years on charges of founding them lax in duty on prohibition,” Jitendra Kumar said.

    “Among the arrests, more than 6700 were the stockists of illicit liquor. We have never hesitated in taking actions against cops and 135 of them have been dismissed. This exhibits our commitment towards zero tolerance in this respect,” he added.

    He said that CM Nitish Kumar and DGP SK Singhal continuously monitor the prohibition taking it to extreme level of success.

  • Three suspended for drinking alcohol in MP school as video goes viral

    By PTI
    SEONI: A teacher and two employees of a government school in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district were placed under suspension after a video purportedly showing them consuming liquor in the premises went viral on social media, an official said on Sunday.

    The incident took place in Government Higher Secondary School in Ganeshganj town under Lakhnadon block, said SS Markam, Assistant Commissioner of Tribal Development Department.

    He said assistant teacher Sunil Tiwari, clerk Vinod Harshal and watchman Shivkumar were suspended on Saturday, while the proposal to take action against another teacher has been sent to the divisional commissioner.

    A show cause notice has also been issued to the school’s principal, Markam added.