At least 27 died, and several were hospitalised after consuming spurious liquor in Siwan and Saran districts on Wednesday, October 16. In its official statement, the administration said that there are four people in Siwan and two in Chhapra city of Saran.
However, reports suggest that at least 27 people have died in both districts of Bihar in the past 24 hours. According to the information, nearly 49 people were admitted to several hospitals in both districts, and many are in critical condition.
The Bihar government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to each of the deceased's families, and they must pledge that they are in favour of the liquor ban imposed by the Nitish Kumar-led state government.
"Kin of the deceased will have to take a pledge that they are in favour of liquor ban imposed by the state government and that they are against liquor. If the postmortem report of the deceased confirms that he has died due to illicit liquor, and if the kin of the deceased fulfils the required conditions, ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each will be given to the families," Saran DM Aman Samir.
In Maghar village of Bhagwanpur police station area in Siwan, the health of several people started to deteriorate on Wednesday after they allegedly drank from plastic bags containing poisonous liquor on Tuesday.
Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav liquor is only banned on paper, not in practice. "We can say that the liquor ban in Bihar is only on paper. Around 30 people have died due to consumption of spurious liquor, while dozens lost their eyesight," Yadav added.
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BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said, "A complete and strict liquor ban is imposed in Bihar. Some liquor mafia are involved in such incidents. Whoever is involved in this, will not be spared. CM Nitish Kumar is very strict about it. It is unfortunate that many people in Siwan-Chhapra lost their lives to illicit liquor. "
Siwan Councillor Sushil Kumar Dablu said, "The administration always reports false figures... They are trying to cover up. Had the administration been alert, such an incident would have never happened. Ever since liquor has been banned in the state, such incidents have happened very frequently and the administration is not alert at all... Do they want to make Bihar a land of widows?... The total number of deaths is nearing 50... 40-50 people are undergoing treatment..."