Booze for dry Bihar seized

Ranchi: Jharkhand seems to have become a safe corridor for smuggling liquor to dry Bihar, the matter coming to light after police found 58 booze cartons hidden in a van which was on its way to Saharsa district in the neighbouring state.

Godda police on Thursday night seized a pickup van loaded with cartons of two India-made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brands hidden under sacks of puffed rice (muri).

“On Thursday evening, I was informed that a pickup van carrying illegal liquor was heading towards Bihar. After verification, I formed a special team led by Godda Town thana in-charge Renu Gupta. She promptly swung into action and nabbed driver Abhinandan Yadav (28). While checking, it was found that the bottles were meant for sale in Haryana only,” said Godda SP Rajeev Ranjan Singh on Friday.

During interrogation, Yadav revealed the names of people involved in the illegal trade. “Van owner Prafulla Kumar and Yadav are from Saharsa. The liquor was bought by one Moti Das of Poraiyahat in Godda district and was scheduled to be delivered to one Butesh Yadav in Saur Bazar thana area of Saharsa,” the Godda SP said.

Singh said cartons of liquor, meant to be sold only in Haryana and Punjab, were hidden among various items being carried in large containers and trailers.

“After crossing Bihar, mainly through NH-2, these cartons are dumped in forests on both sides of the highway passing through Jharkhand and then sent to Bihar in pickup vans and light vehicles,” he said.

“In the recent past, large quantities of illegal liquor were seized in Giridih and Koderma districts. A few days ago, liquor boxes were found in the driver’s cabin of a super-fast express train at Danapur station in Bihar,” the Godda SP added.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had announced a ban on country liquor on April 1, 2016. Four days later, he imposed a complete ban.

Courtesy: The Telegraph