Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, December 20
Bihar government on Tuesday objected to the investigations by National Human Rights Commission into the deaths due to spurious liquor in Bihar.
Rajiv Jain, member of NHRC today visited Saran to probe the hooch tragedy. Vijay Kumar Chaudhury, state’s Finance Minister, on Tuesday protested against NHRC probe and claimed Commission has neither jurisdiction nor authority to investigate hooch tragedy.
“What is the relevance of violation of human rights and hooch tragedy”, Chaudhury questioned and said why NHRC failed to probe the Morbi bridge collapse in which 150 were killed in Gujarat.
Jain met the Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (home) and DG of police. Later, he visited Saran, where he met Saran district magistrate and SP. NHRC member talked to the survivors and families of the hooch tragedy victims.
Commission took suo-moto cognizance of deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor in the wake of deaths in other districts too. It observed the state has not been to stop the sale of spurious liquor in different parts of Bihar where there was total prohibition since 2016.
Commission decided to probe the tragedy as the victims were poor and from downtrodden society.’ what. steps were taken to provide relief and rehabilitate the families,” it said.
Jain will investigate whether the victims were given medical facilities. “Since they were poor, they could have been treated in private hospitals, but this was not done,” he charged.
This is for the first time, NHRC has intervened immediately following over 100 deaths due to spurious liquor in Saran.
