An official said that the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, hosted a high-level meeting with officials on Tuesday to discuss issues related to the state’s prohibition and demand that they be found to have violated the prohibition. The police and the staff of the consumption tax department took severe action. . The meeting was held after the state recently killed 47 people due to the consumption of fake alcohol. All ministers, senior administrative and police officials of the state participated in the seven-hour meeting.
After the meeting, the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, Caitanya Prasad, said in an interview with reporters: “CM condemns the recent hooch incident and has issued strict instructions to relevant officials to take action against those involved in these cases. .” He said: “CM has also ordered severe actions against police, including station workers (SHOs), if they are found to have violated the state’s prohibition on alcohol.” He said that strict departmental actions will be taken against those SHO who fail to enforce the ban in their respective fields, adding that they will not be appointed as station chiefs in the next ten years.
Since Diwali, 47 people across the state have died on suspicion of drinking illegal alcohol. The Nitish Kumar government banned the production, trade, storage, transportation, sale and consumption of alcohol in the state on April 5, 2016. Prasad said: “It also instructs senior officials of the prohibition tax and registration department and the police to meet regularly and discuss issues involving prohibition.”
Another chief secretary said that an in-depth investigation will be conducted on the recent Hodge tragedy, and that “people convicted should be tried.” He said that CM also instructed relevant officials to determine the route for smuggling alcohol from other states to Bihar and maintain close vigilance. He added that the state government will soon launch a campaign on the adverse effects of drinking alcoholic beverages.
News Source : The Indian Express
