Bihar orders dismissal of policemen caught drinking alcohol

Patna: The Bihar government has ordered the immediate dismissal of policemen caught drinking alcohol in a bid to strictly implement liquor prohibition laws in the state that have been in force for the past five years. The government blames policemen for not enforcing the laws strictly.

“All police personnel across the state have taken a pledge of not drinking alcohol. If anyone is caught drinking, disciplinary action must be initiated and he/she must be dismissed immediately,” Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has announced.

The chief minister passed the order while reviewing the performance of prohibition and excise departments on Monday evening. The government has taken serious note of the role of the watchmen working at the village-level who have been found allegedly colluding with liquor traders.

“These watchmen at the village-level possess every bit of information about illegal activities going on in their areas. Act tough against them if they are caught off guard or any irregularities about liquor is found in their jurisdiction,” Kumar directed the officials in charge of police departments.

But the announcement has infuriated the police who want such action to also be taken against officials of all government departments. “We appreciate the action of the chief minister in strictly implementing the liquor laws but it will be good if this is implemented in other departments too,” Bihar Policemens Association president Mritunjay Kumar Singh said.

As per an official report, 52 police officials are facing inquiries and 36 others have been sacked for violating the liquor laws in the state so far. There are 80,000 policemen in the state force.

Reports said the chief minister was angry over reports of frequent recovery of huge consignments of alcohol being transported to Bihar through various means. Reports have revealed that major consignments have been coming to the state from Haryana and West Bengal.

Earlier this month, more than 50,000 litres of alcohol kept in 5,000 cartons worth Rs50 million were confiscated by the excise department from a storehouse in Patna. “The estimated market price of the consignment is more than Rs50 million but their black market price is above Rs200 million,” excise department’s deputy commissioner Krishna Kumar told the media. Last month, 500 cartons of foreign liquor worth Rs5 million were seized from Muzaffarpur district. The same month, 51 bottles of liquor were recovered in Gopalganj district.

Excise officials said the liquor ban has opened several channels for the illegal liquor traders to smuggle liquor in the “dry” State at the prices around three-times higher than the original price since the liquor delivery involves very high risks here given the draconian liquor laws. As per an official report, more than 200,000 people have been sent to jails for violating liquor laws and over three million litres of liquor had been seized by the police and excise department so far.

The state government imposed the stringent Prohibition and Excise Act in April 2016 with provision of a minimum 10 year jail term for violators.

The latest National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-2020) released in December 2020 said 15.5 per cent of people above the age of 15 years still consume alcohol in Bihar despite total prohibition laws in force.