Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, December 19
Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha Member Sushil Kumar Modi (BJP) and former RJD legislator from Saran Randhir Singh on Sunday alleged government was hiding the death numbers in Saran hooch tragedy.
Modi, who visited Saran on Sunday, claimed the death toll has crossed 100 but district administration was hiding the exact number of deaths. Families of the deceased told him there was a reign of police terror in the affected areas. People are being forced to cremate the bodies of the victims of illicit liquor without post mortem.
He said more lives could have been saved if the Chapra and Mashrakh hospitals responded in time. There was no ambulance, no doctor nor para medical staff available. Even stretchers were not made available, Modi regretted.
Modi charged the Mashrakh police officials with supplying seized spirits to the liquor mafia who manufactured spurious liquor leading to over 100 deaths.
Quoting the Bihar Excise Act, Modi said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was not speaking truth about the law. He said section 42 of the Act authorised district collector to recommend Rs four lakhs compensation to the families of each of the victims.
Modi, who held finance portfolio in the NDA government, recalled state had paid Rs four lakhs as compensation to the widows of hooch tragedy in Khajurbanni village of neighbouring Gopalganj district in 2016 when 19 people died.
The BJP leader said prohibition has failed, 1000 have died since 2016, four lakhs have been jailed, state lost Rs 30,000 crores of excise revenue because of a rigid Chief Minister. He blamed the Chief Minister for expanding liquor vends to the villages in the first phase of his government.
Randhir Singh, a former MLA of RJD in Saran too claimed 100 deaths in Mashrakh and alleged police was forcing people to deny deaths due to liquor.
