Seven persons died and many others were hospitalised in a hooch tragedy at Masrakh locality of Marhaura sub-division in Bihar’s Saran district late on Tuesday, police said.
This year, nine hooch incidents have been reported, leading to the death of nearly 50 persons in Saran alone.
The incident led to an uproar in the state’s legislative assembly with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) terming it as a “complete failure of the liquor prohibition”. The Congress demanded a review of the prohibition.
Police said that five persons died on Tuesday while two died on Wednesday morning. The deceased have been identified as Bichendra Rai, Harendra Ram, Ramji Shah, Amit Ranjan Sinha, Sanjay Singh, Kunal Singh and Mukesh Sharma.
The family members of the deceased alleged that more than 15 persons consumed country made liquor at Doyla village on Tuesday evening. Within hours, they started vomiting and complained of nausea, headache and uneasiness following which their family members took them to the hospital. A few others, who complained of vision loss, have been undergoing treatment at the Masrakh health centre. One of them, Amit Kumar, has been referred to the Chhapra sadar hospital in a critical condition.
Irate over the incident, villagers blocked the state highway near Hanuman Chowk, disrupted vehicular traffic, burnt tyres and demanded compensation to the next kin of the deceased. They shouted slogans against the administration and demanded action against those involved in the incident.
They alleged that one Uma Singh of Ishuapur has been running an illegal liquor manufacturing unit in the area for the last few years with the connivance of local police and excise officials.
“The smuggling and sale of liquor happens with the connivance of the local police/ excise department and it goes on unabated,” said one of the protestors who did no want to be named.
Saran district magistrate Rajesh Meena said, “I have got reports about the six deaths and investigation is on. We have also talked to the villagers and urged them to report fearlessly about liquor smuggling. No innocent will be harassed. A medical team was rushed to the village.”