Spurious liquor claims 4 lives in 2 Siwan villages

PATNA: Four persons died allegedly after consuming spurious liquor in two villages under Garhani police station area in Siwan district late Sunday night. Liquor is banned in Bihar.
The police recovered the bodies on Monday morning when the family members were preparing for their cremation. Later, the bodies were handed over to the families after postmortem. An investigating officer said the body of one of the victims was seized from the pyre at Mairitand Ghat.
The deceased, Dukhharan Ram (60), Manoj Ram (30) and Anwar Miyan (50) belonged to Belauri village while Shivaji Yadav (45) was from the neighbouring Belour.
The relatives of Dukhharan and Anwar told the police officials that they complained of pain in abdomen, vomiting and nausea soon after reaching home late Sunday evening. “The four were in an inebriated condition and rushed to a nearby private nursing home where they died,” family members of the deceased claimed.
The local residents said the police recovered the bodies after someone informed them about their death due to hooch.
Siwan DM Amit Kumar Pandey and SP Abhinav Kumar visited the villages on Monday. The DM told the media that the postmortem report was awaited. “Further action will be initiated on the basis of the autopsy report. The SP has been asked to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter,” he told this newspaper over phone.
SP Kumar said the statements of the victims’ kin have been recorded. “They say the victims had consumed liquor,” Kumar added.
A medical team also visited the villages and examined the health of the residents on Monday. “Medical screening is being done on the DM’s directive,” a senior police officer said.
Some residents accused Garhani police station SHO Rajesh Kumar of being hand in glove with the liquor smugglers.