Reiterating that those who consume alcohol would end up dead, Bihar State Chief Nitish Kumar on Friday refused to provide any government compensation to victims' families.
Discussing the issue of the liquor ban in the state assembly, Kumar announced that “no compensation will be given to people who died after drinking...We have been appealing- if you drink, you will die...those who talk in favor of drinking will not bring any good to you.”
The state chief further said that he would again urge the people to give up alcohol, as it doesn't help them in any manner.
Toxic Liquor Tragedy
Taking suo motu cognizance of the media reports on the incident, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has written to the Chief Secretary of the state and Director General of Police (DGP), asking them to provide a detailed report on the matter including the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the police and the medical treatment of the victims.
Notably on Thursday, Kumar had told media that if “someone consumes bootleg liquor, they will die.”
He also defended the state's liquor ban policy introduced during his tenure as chief of state, claiming it benefitted citizens as a large number of people allegedly gave up drinking alcohol due to strict state measures.
Since Tuesday, at least 60 people have died in Saran district after consuming moonshine. Most of the deaths were reportedly in the town of Chhapra.
The tragedy has triggered a massive political row, with the state’s main opposition party Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) criticizing the Nitish Kumar-led ruling grand alliance 'Mahagathbandhan' and demanding they reconsider the alcohol ban.
Kumar introduced a law prohibiting sale and consumption of alcohol in the state in August 2016. Since then, however, numerous incidents have been reported across the state due to consumption of bootleg liquor.