Bihar: Acting on a tip-off, police raided the Belbanwa neighborhood in Motihari city late Friday night. City police arrested five people red-handed during a liquor party being held in a house.
Bihar is legally a dry state. The state government implemented a total ban on the manufacture, sale, storage, transportation, and consumption of alcohol in April 2016 under the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act. Possessing, drinking, or selling liquor is a crime punishable by heavy fines or prison time.
Four of the arrested accused are employees of Punjab National Bank (PNB), while the fifth youth is a resident of the city’s Chhatauni area. Police recovered two Black Dog brand bottles (one empty and the other partially filled) and a glass of liquor from the scene.
Police Inspector Rajiv Ranjan said that they had received a tip-off about a liquor party being held at the house of a man named Pramod Srivastava. Upon receiving the information, a police team immediately raided the house. A breathalyzer test confirmed that all five youths had consumed alcohol.
During the raid, the main door of the house was open, and the five accused were drinking inside. One of the two 750 ml bottles on the table was empty, while the other had about 400 ml of liquor left in it.
Upon seeing the police team, all the accused in the room tried to flee, but the police force surrounded them and apprehended them. The arrested accused have been identified as Indrajit Kumar, Lucky Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Tarun Kumar, and Pratik Sinha.
According to the police, except for Lucky Singh, the four other accused are employed at Punjab National Bank. Police have registered a case against all of them under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act and have initiated further legal action.
According to the police, all those arrested will undergo medical examinations. After this, they will be remanded to judicial custody. The police say that the campaign against those violating the prohibition law will continue.
