Man held for threatening to come drunk in public meeting of

A resident of this north Bihar town was on Wednesday sent to jail after being arrested the previous night for posting a video on Facebook in which he had threatened to attend a public meeting of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in a drunken state, defying the prohibition law.

Thakur Chandan Kumar Singh, an advocate by profession, had caused ripples Tuesday when he posted a video alleging that despite the complete ban on sale and consumption of liquor that was imposed three years ago, alcohol was freely available in the state.

The video was taken strong note of as Singh was threatening to break the law. He was accordingly picked up from his house, booked under relevant sections of IPC, the states Excise Act and the IT Act, Sub Divisional Police Officer (Sadar), Kumar Veer Dheerendra said.

 

He was produced before the CJMs court which remanded him to 14 days in judicial custody, the SDPO added.

In the video footage which has been beamed on a number of regional news channels, Singh can be heard using objectionable language against the Chief Minister whom he squarely blames for the flagrant violation of prohibition.

"It is an open challenge to you, Mr Nitish Kumar. You are scheduled to hold a public meeting in Sitamarhi on December 23. I will come there after consuming alcohol. If your police is worth its salt, let it arrest me.

"I would come drunk to spread the message either the prohibition should be enforced or scrapped. We must not have a farce in the name of liquor ban", Singh says in the nearly five-minute-long footage.

The Chief Minister, who is on a state-wide "Jal-Jeevan- Hariyali Yatra", is currently touring central Bihar and expected to touch this northern town situated close to the Indo-Nepal border next week.

Known to trigger controversies through litigation, Singh had hit the headlines in 2016 when he had filed a petition before the CJMs court seeking registration of an FIR against Lord Rama and Laxmana for banishing Sita to exile in forest.

The court had dismissed the petition as "not maintainable" even as complaints were lodged against the lawyer for "defaming" the Hindu deity.

Sitamarhi is believed to be the place where, as per the epic Ramayana, goddess Sita was discovered by Janaka, the King of Mithila who adopted her and brought up her before she got married to Lord Rama who was chosen by her in a Swayamvara.