The Bihar government has ordered a probe into the death of seven persons allegedly after drinking spurious liquor in West Champaran district. The incident occurred at Maithya village under the Lauriya police station in Bettiah.

In the last three days, five persons have died, whereas the first death took place on Thursday. Relatives have cremated the bodies and the police came to know of it on Sunday. The district administration has ordered a probe into it, denying deaths due to liquor, which is prohibited in Bihar.

Sumit Kumar, in-charge District Magistrate of Bettiah, said a four-member committee had been formed to probe the deaths.

“Once the report comes, then only we can say anything about the cause of death,” Mr. Kumar told the media.

There is silence in the village over the death of seven persons. However, relatives of the deceased are giving different reasons to the investigating team.

“The medical team which visited the village has not yet submitted the report. These deaths have not happened due to drinking alcohol because people died on different dates and in different age groups,“ said Shaurya Suman, Superintendent of Police, Bettiah.

When the police had gone to investigate the matter, the villagers reportedly showed them a country-made liquor pouch but it was immediately burnt by one of the team members, it is alleged.

After the incident, heavy police deployment has been made in the village. The family members of the deceased are maintaining distance from the police and have kept mum. A team of doctors is visiting door-to-door to conduct medical check-ups. Many of the villagers have told the police that liquor is sold openly in the area. However, the police are pretending as if they are not aware of it.

Bettiah:

Seven people died allegedly after drinking spurious liquor in dry Bihar’s West Champaran district, prompting the administration to order an inquiry, a police officer said on Sunday.

The police came to know about the deaths on Sunday, though the first fatality occurred four days ago and the bodies of all seven were already cremated, the officer said.

District Superintendent of Police Shaurya Suman said all the deaths were reported from the Lauriya police station area.

Locals blamed the deaths on consumption of spurious liquor, but the SP asserted that the reason behind at last two fatalities was not hooch.

One had been hit by a tractor, while another had suffered a paralytic attack, Suman said.

“The first death took place on January 15 though we came to know about the episode only today. The cause of the remaining five deaths was unclear as all seven bodies were cremated before the police were informed. We have set up an investigation team to find out the cause of the deaths,” Suman told PTI.

West Champaran’s Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC), Sumit Kumar said it is difficult to ascertain the cause of the deaths as all the bodies were cremated.

“The investigation team was directed to submit its report within 24 hours,” Kumar told PTI.

The team will also ascertain the identity of those who died in the last three or four days in Lauriya, he added.

A family member of one of the person who died said, “My brother Pradeep consumed liquor with his friend Manish. Both died”.

The sale and consumption of alcohol was banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)