Liquor worth Rs 10 lakh seized in Bihar

Police today seized a huge consignment of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), worth Rs 10 lakh, from Sujawalpur Chowk in Muzaffarpur district of "dry" Bihar.

Acting on a tip off, a police team raided a spot near Sujawalpur chowk in Sakra police station area of the district this morning and seized 478 liquor cartons from a truck, bearing registration number of Haryana, Station House Officer Ravi Shankar Singh said.

The IMFL cartons were being unloaded from the truck for dispersal in a pickup van when the police raided the area, he said.

The van, a four-wheeler and a motorcycle parked at the spot have also been confiscated, the SHO said, adding that the truck driver, cleaner and others involved in unloading the liquor cartons managed to flee the scene.

Bihar was declared a dry state in 2016, after the Nitish Kumar government imposed a total ban on the sale, manufacture and consumption of alcohol, including Indian-Made Foreign Liquor.

As per the provisions of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, anybody found guilty of violating the law could attract a minimum of 10 years' of jail term, which may extend to imprisonment for life, and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh.