Nitish Kumar Dares NHRC to Probe Hooch Tragedies in Other States
Enumerators during the first phase of the caste-based census in Patna on January 7. Image Courtesy: PTI
Patna: Bihar chief minister (CM) Nitish Kumar questioned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) probe into the latest hooch tragedy in Saran district on Wednesday.
The NHRC team visited the homes of the deceased for the second day and interacted with their families in Saran and also met the staff of Sadar hospital to gather information about the incident.
The official death toll in the tragedy rose to 42, including eight who died at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). However, the local media reported the toll at 83.
“NHRC should understand that prohibition is enforced in Bihar with the sale, consumption and manufacturing of liquor totally banned. No one has the right to violate prohibition and drink spurious liquor. The Constitution is clear about it,” Kumar told the media in the state capital.
Daring the NHRC to probe into reported hooch tragedies in other states, the CM said, “If the NHRC has sent a team to Saran to inquire into the incident, it should send teams to other states. Why an NHRC team is in Bihar to probe into the hooch tragedy?”
Kumar said that the state government is already investigating the incident, the police have arrested several people involved in the illicit liquor trade and action has been taken against local police personnel for negligence in implementing prohibition.
State prohibition and excise minister Sunil Kumar said told the media on Wednesday that it is “beyond our thinking how an NHRC team is probing” the Saran hooch tragedy. “It is not a human rights violation if a person died after consuming spurious liquor. Hundreds of people have died after consuming spurious liquor in different states but the NHRC has never probed them. Why only Bihar?”
On Tuesday, state finance minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said that the incident “isn’t connected to human rights”. “Is hood tragedy only reported in Bihar? Are such incidents not reported across the country? As per official data, more people died in hooch tragedies in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Why the NHRC failed to probe them?” he told the media.
Opposition BJP continued to protest in Patna with party MLAs and MLCs staging a demonstration in the Assembly and demanding compensation for the families of the deceased. BJP leaders alleged that more than 100 people died in Saran and the state government is hiding the number of deaths.
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