Six flee Bihar jail after cutting iron grill
Policemen deployed for the security of the lock-up had allegedly consumed a heavy dose of alcohol
Patna: Six people arrested for smuggling alcohol escaped from prison in Bihar on Thursday after breaking the iron grill — the second-such incident in the past four days, and raising concerns over security arrangements.
Police said all the absconding accused, arrested from the Indo-Nepal border, broke the lock-up of the excise department at Motihari town in east Champaran district and fled climbing down the water pump — while the security personnel slept after having consumed liquor allegedly seized from the arrested people.
Reports quoting police sources said the policemen deployed for the security of the lock-up had allegedly consumed a heavy dose of alcohol and slept off the drink as the bootleggers fled the scene.
“It was sheer negligence on the part of the security personnel and we have taken the matter quite seriously. We will take action against them,” the local district excise superintendent Keshav Prasad told the media on Friday.
Selling or drinking liquor is a serious offence in Bihar now that it has been declared a dry state under a new law implemented last year. Bihar imposed total prohibition of it in April last year.
As per the new excise law, selling alcohol attracts severe penalties ranging from a 10-year jail term to life imprisonment and even death depending on the nature of the crime.
Earlier this week, 34 juvenile inmates, many of them facing serious charges like murder, rape and robbery, escaped from a remand home in Munger district in Bihar after cutting through the metal windows and gate. Culprits below 18 years of age are kept in remand homes, also known as reform centres.
