Patna: Rats in Bihar have been accused by policemen of guzzling around a million litres of seized alcohol stocks stored in police stations, prompting authorities to issue orders to drive out rodents from police offices.
The rats came in for censure at a meeting of police inspectors held in Patna on Tuesday. The purpose of the meeting called by Patna’s senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaj was aimed at reviewing the law and order situation in the state capital in view of the ongoing civic elections.
Reports said during the course of the meeting, the SSP inquired from officials about the status of the seized contraband stored in police station. However to his surprise many subordinates started blaming rats for destroying almost all the alcohol bottles.
According to them, quite many confiscated alcohol bottles got destroyed while being transported to the police stations and those that managed to reach the police storerooms were ultimately emptied by the rats.
When the SSP asked as to how could these rats guzzle such a huge quantity of liquor, he was told the rats gnawed at the caps of bottles or cans and sipped the alcohol right before their eyes!
“Sir, using their razor sharp incisors, they easily make holes in the caps of liquor bottles or beer cans and drink alcohol kept in the storehouses,” the local media quoted police inspectors as having told the SSP.
On hearing the complaint, the SSP ordered getting rid of rodents at all police stations. Apparently sensing foul play on the part of cops, he also announced that from now on all policemen posted at the police stations would have to go through “Breathalyzer test” to determine if they have consumed alcohol.
Meanwhile, the state police headquarters has announced audit of all 1,053 police stations across the state in view of the mysterious disappearance of liquor from the storerooms.
As per an official report, authorities seized around a million litres of alcohol in the past 13 months since total prohibition was enforced in the state in April last year. They included 567,857 litres of foreign liquor and 310,492 litres of country-made liquor.
