An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police was killed in Bihar’s Begusarai district when a car dragged him for about half a kilometre as he tried to stop the vehicle for checking following a tip-off that it was carrying liquor late on Tuesday.
Police said that the driver of the vehicle sped and knocked down ASI Khamas Choudhary before managing to flee from the spot, leaving the car behind. A guard was also injured. Residents gathered at the spot and took away bottles of the liquor from the car.
Police superintendent Yogendra Kumar said that the incident took place around 11:30pm and that they were trying to identify the car owner and his driver.
Prohibition was imposed in Bihar in 2016 as per chief minister Nitish Kumar’s election promise after demands from women’s groups campaigning against alcoholism even as questions remain over the benefits of the liquor ban.
Alcohol and some adulterated versions of it are widely available and hundreds of people have been killed after drinking spurious liquor. HT has reported on “home delivery” of liquor.
Gangs and criminals have gained in the hinterland by supplying liquor as the prohibition drove the business underground. The prohibition has also caused revenue loss besides posing public health risks.
Kumar’s announcement of a door-to-door survey on the impact of prohibition is expected to lead to evidence-based policymaking on liquor. It is seen as an indication of a rethink of the prohibition, which is popular with a section of the population.
