Bootlegger uses horse to enter state from UP, held

Bettiah: West Champaran police on Friday arrested a youth for allegedly smuggling Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) from Uttar Pradesh into Bihar using a horse. Over 21 litres of liquor was seized during an operation under Nautan police station area. This is the fourth such incident reported in West Champaran in recent months, pointing to a changing pattern in liquor smuggling tactics in the district, police said.According to police, the accused was identified as Ravi Kumar, a resident of Banhaura village in Nautan. Police said 121 bottles of IMFL, each containing 180 ml, were recovered from sacks loaded on the horse he was using to ferry the consignment across the inter-state border.Smugglers are adopting unconventional methods to bypass checks. “Bootleggers are using animals such as horses to move liquor through narrow and difficult routes where police vehicles cannot reach easily,” a police officer said.Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) II Rajnikant Priyadarshi said the arrest was made following a specific tip-off. “We received information that a youth was transporting liquor on horseback to evade detection. Acting on this, surveillance was intensified in the area and the suspect was intercepted late Friday night,” he said.A search led to the recovery of the liquor consignment, he added.The SDPO said preliminary investigation revealed that the liquor was being sourced from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and brought into Bihar in violation of the state’s prohibition law. The accused was taken into custody and legal proceedings were initiated under relevant sections of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.