Liquor graft swipe at Nitish

Patna: Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday alleged that people close to the chief minister had given a few IPS and IAS officers a free hand to mint money through the liquor mafia.

Manjhi cited the example of suspended IPS officer Vivek Kumar, who is alleged to have connections with the liquor mafia in north Bihar and from whose premises the special vigilance unit (SVU) recovered property worth Rs 3.5 crore during raids.

“It is not just Muzaffarpur IPS and IAS,” Manjhi said without taking any names. “There are many more who are minting money ever since prohibition came into force, and I must say that people close to Nitish have given these officers a free hand to make money. It isn’t possible for them to get so deeply involved with the liquor mafia without fear just like that. It proves they have support from the top, maybe from the chief minister’s residence.”

The former chief minister said prohibition had led to illegal liquor trade in the state and its business was increasing every passing day. He also alleged that influential people were involved in the business but only the poor and backward were being arrested. Attacking the Nitish Kumar government over his statement that canards are being spread that the number of people put behind bars had crossed lakhs, Manjhi said.

“Nitish ji said the jails lack capacity and only 8,123 people are jail. If one goes to jail, he also gets bail and the number keeps on piling up and has crossed 1.33 lakh, of which 88,000 are poor people.”

He alleged that liquor trade was mushrooming in Bihar and Nitish was patting his own back for is fake success.

He cited another example, that of sub-inspector Sanjay Kumar Gaur, who had committed suicide by shooting himself with a colleague’s service revolver on the premises of a police outpost in Muzaffarpur last year.

“The sub-inspector committed suicide because he was asked to give money for posting at good police station and he had given money after selling his wife’s ornaments. Despite that, his posting did not happen, after which he committed suicide. It was the same SSP who had demanded money. The entire country is watching how crores of money are coming out from his lockers and that of his in-laws as well,” Manjhi said.

Courtesy: The Telegraph