Bihar failed in effectively implementing prohibition: Sushil Modi

A total of 23,651.50 litre of liquor, smuggled from other states, was seized in the last five months in Bihar

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Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Friday alleged that the Nitish Kumar government has failed to effectively implement prohibition in Bihar as indicated by the rich haul of alcohol during seizure operations.

"The government has totally failed in effectively implementing prohibition," he said in a statement in Patna.

"Though according to official statistics, around 14,000 people have been arrested so far for violation of the new Excise law, the way foreign brand beer and country spirit have been seized during the last five months of prohibition, it proves that illegal trade in alcohol is rampant," Sushil Modi said.

Officials of the state Excise department had Thursday briefed that 11,679 litre of Indian made foreign liquor and 92,291.47 litre of country liquor were seized from April to August this year.

A total of 23,651.50 litre of liquor, smuggled from other states, was seized in the last five months with the maximum amount coming from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, they said.

Huge quantity of liquor illegally traded from West Bengal, Jharkhand, Haryana, Nepal, Arunachal Pradesh and elsewhere were also seized.

Sushil Modi, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council, questioned the enthusiasm among ruling coalition members over National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) latest report of 2015 which has placed Bihar at 22nd position.

"The government might be patting its back, but in heinous crime like murder, Bihar is at second position and first in cases of riots," he said quoting the NCRB report.

The BJP leader alleged that notwithstanding the prohibition, though crime had declined a bit in April, criminal incidents started rising from May and June.

In comparison to April, cases of rape shot up by 55 per cent while other heinous crimes like murder rose by 14 per cent and riots by 59 per cent, Sushil Modi alleged.