Hooch claimed 354 lives in Bihar since start of prohibition in 2016 Police

Patna, Mar 17 (PTI) Altogether 354 people have died due to consumption of spurious liquor in Bihar since the prohibition law was implemented in 2016, a senior police officer said here on Tuesday.
    There has been an 18 per cent increase in the average monthly seizure of hooch till February this year over 2025.
    Talking to reporters here, ADG (Prohibition and State Narcotics Control Bureau) Amit Kumar Jain said, "Ever since the prohibition was imposed, 354 people have died due to consumption of spurious liquor in Bihar."
    The police officer’s statement came days after five people died due to the consumption of suspected illicit liquor in Saran district.
    Jain said the authorities have upped the ante in making raids to seize liquor.
    "In the first two months of 2026, the average monthly recovery of liquor reached 3,70,684 litres, an 18 per cent increase over 3,14,610 litres in 2025. The average monthly recovery of liquor was approximately 2,88,425 litres in 2024, nine per cent lower than the 2025 figures," the ADG said.
    He added that the amounts of total liquor seized by Bihar police in 2024 and 2025 were 34,61,096 and 37,75,321 litres, respectively.
    Jain said that apart from recovering liquor within the state, the prohibition unit of the Bihar police also conducts inter-state raids to check the supply of liquor here.
    "In the first two months of this year, the unit conducted three raids outside the state — two in UP and one in Jharkhand," he said.
    In 2024, a total of four such raids were conducted, and the number increased the next year to 38 — 15 in Jharkhand, 17 in UP, four in Chhattisgarh, and two in Madhya Pradesh, the ADG added.
    According to the police statement, in the first two months of this year, 8,072 traders and 14,755 consumers of liquor were arrested, of which 251 arrests were made outside the state.
    The ADG said that liquor disposal is also a major focus area for the police.
    "The prohibition unit has conducted surprise inspections in various police stations and monitored the godowns. We have circulated an SOP to all districts regarding the legal provisions and rules for liquor disposal to ensure uniformity in the process," he said.
    Apart from liquor, between 2023 and the first two months of 2026, there has been a significant increase in the recovery of various narcotic substances, including ganja, charas, heroin and brown sugar, the officer said.
    Referring to the suspected hooch deaths in Saran district, the ADG said that six of the 10 named accused have been arrested.
    "The main accused Suraj Mahto had fled to Purnea, but he was tracked down based on intelligence from the Narcotics Bureau and brought back to the district and arrested," he added.
    Of the five deceased, autopsies were conducted for two, while the bodies of the other three had already been disposed of, Jain said.
    "We are currently awaiting the full investigation results, but the chemical examination report for the recovered liquor has confirmed the presence of ethyl alcohol," said Jain.
    The Bihar government in 2016 enforced a complete ban on the manufacture, trade, storage, transportation, sale, and consumption of liquor and intoxicants in the state. However, this led to scores of hooch tragedies resulting in numerous deaths.
    The Patna High Court recently criticised the Bihar government over the “failure” of the state machinery in effectively implementing the prohibition law, and warned that citizens’ lives were being put at risk.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)