On 14 December 2022, an alcohol poisoning took place in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

, India. The poisoning resulted in the death of 73 people. The victims consumed hooch (spurious liquor), that is qualitatively different from the standard alcoholic products. It is the highest death toll in

, since liquor prohibition in state in 2016.

Background

In April 2016, Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unite ...

enacted legislation banning the sale and consumption of alcohol in the

. 21 million litres of liquor had been seized in the state till February 2022 since the prohibition. For violating the law, around 450,000 people have been arrested. Mostly, the poisoning incidents have been reported from rural areas, where denatured spirit's use has proliferated due to illegal manufacturing facilities.

Incident

According to police, relatives of those who were killed claimed that the victims died due to the consumption of poisonous liquor in the Doila and Yadu Mot villages of the

Saran district Saran district is one of the thirty-eight Districts of Bihar, districts of Indian States and territories of India, state of Bihar. The district, part of Saran Division, is also known as Chhapra district after the headquarters of the district, Chha ...

. The victims started vomiting after consuming the alcohol with people dying on the way to hospital. Many others died while being treated in hospital later. The tragedy took the lives of 73 people in total.

Response

Chief Minister

said that those who drink alcohol will die and no compensation will be given to the families of the deceased. Pointing out that

is a state where

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

prohibition has been in place since 2016, the Chief Minister asked people to be more cautious in this regard. The opposition protested against

's stand in the assembly.

References

{{Disasters in India in 2022

2020s in Bihar Alcohol-related deaths in India December 2022 crimes in Asia December 2022 events in India Methanol poisoning incidents Crime in Bihar