Bihar prohibition law: In a big haul, cops arrest BJP MP's son for drinking

Patna: Police action against BJP MP’s son for consuming liquor has triggered a political storm in the state.

Opposition parties on Monday while terming the prohibition law as “drama” blamed the government for targeting only people belonging to a backward community”.

Gaya MP Hari Manjhi’s son Rahul Manjhi along with his friend was arrested by the police in a drunken state on Sunday and was sent to Gaya central jail for violating prohibition law.

On Monday reacting sharply, Hari Manjhi accused the police of falsely implicating his son in the liquor case.

He said, “I was the one who had informed the police about illegal liquor trade in the area but instead of acting against the mafia they arrest my son in a false case”.

Bihar was declared a dry state by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on April 5, 2016. According to reports over 23 lakh litre of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and country liquor has so far been seized.

The state government had created a separate wing in the police department to ensure proper implementation of prohibition in the state.

Liquor prohibition was the first major announcement by Nitish Kumar after he was sworn in as Chief Minister in 2015 following an emphatic election victory.

It was a promise he had made to a group of women who had complained about liquor addiction in rural areas. 

The complete ban on liquor was imposed on April 5, 2016, but the stringent excise law was brought into force in October 2016 after Patna High Court had quashed the previous prohibition act.

Prohibition, consumption and dealing or conniving to sell liquor was made a criminal offense under Bihar prohibition law which provides for imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine of more than Rs one lakh.

This was the first high profile action by the police in last one year in connection with illegal prohibition trade. Hari Manjhi happens to be a senior BJP leader and a second term MP from Gaya.

“It seems that stringent prohibition law is only for people who belong to the backward community. The fact is that liquor is being sold and consumed freely in Bihar”. Senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwary said on Monday.