Hooch deaths continue despite 10 years of prohibition

Patna: A decade after prohibition was enforced in Bihar, the state continues to grapple with recurring hooch tragedies, with over 360 deaths reported and repeated incidents exposing gaps in enforcement and ground realities.

The deadliest incident unfolded in Saran and Siwan districts in 2022, where more than 70 people lost their lives due to consumption of spurious liquor. Another major toll was reported in Saran, Gopalganj and Siwan districts in 2024, where around 40 people died.

Despite the arrest of several liquor mafias and suppliers in both the tragic events, the hooch tragedy still continues, with 10 deaths occurring in East Champaran district recently in April.

The prohibition, which was rolled out in April 2016 by the then CM Nitish Kumar, witnessed the deaths of at least 19 people in Khajurbani village under Town police station area in Gopalganj district in Aug the same year.

This was the first reported case of hooch tragedy that occurred after four months of the prohibition imposed across the state. Six other people also lost their eyesight in the incident.

Meanwhile, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, compiled on the basis of figures provided by states and Union territories, showed only six deaths.

A case was registered in the matter at the Town police station against 14 named persons, in which one died pending trial. The other 13 persons were later convicted by the special excise court of Gopalganj in 2021. Nine of them were sentenced to death, while four women accused were given life imprisonment. However, the Patna high court acquitted the accused in July 2022, citing that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, reversing the strict lower court order from early 2021.

The state witnessed at least five more deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor in Rohtas in 2017. The then additional director general headquarters, S K Singhal, confirmed five deaths and suspension of nine police officials, while transferring 12 others to police lines. However, the NCRB data showed no deaths in 2017.

The discrepancy in hooch-related death data in Bihar was not isolated. Cumulative National Crime Records Bureau data from 2016 to 2021 showed only 23 hooch deaths in Bihar—six in 2016, none in 2017, none in 2018, nine in 2019, six in 2020 and two in 2021.

Additional director general (Prohibition), Amit Kumar Jain, said: “Since prohibition was imposed in 2016, a total of 354 people reportedly died by consuming spurious liquor till March 2026. Additionally, 10 more people lost their lives in April, raising the toll to 364.”

According to the NCRB data of 2022, a total of 134 people died due to spurious liquor in the state, in which Saran and Gopalganj districts recorded 73 deaths.

The victims complained of severe nausea, vomiting, sudden loss of eyesight and headaches, with many passing away on the way to the hospital in the Saran district’s Mashrakh, Doila and Yadu Mot villages after consuming illicit liquor in Dec 2022.

Nitish initially refused to compensate the families of the deceased, emphasising “If you drink, you will die”. But later a compensation amount of Rs4 lakh each was given to victims’ families.

Two years later in 2024, around 40 people died in three districts of the state, including Maghar and Auriya panchayats of Siwan, Ibrahimpur village under Mashrakh police station area of Saran and Baikunthpur village in Gopalganj.

During the last fortnight in April this year, at least 10 deaths occurred in the Turkauli and Raghunathpur area of Motihari in East Champaran district after consuming spurious liquor.