It has been a decade since Bihar enforced a complete liquor ban, but liquor smugglers persist in operating boldly, challenging law enforcement with evolving strategies. Smugglers have been caught using various methods like secret cellars in trucks, hiding bottles in ambulances, petrol tanks, and even burying consignments in graveyards. A recent unusual incident involved smugglers using a train, converting the underside of a bogie into a secret chamber to transport liquor to Katihar district.
This innovative method surprised even experienced personnel from the Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force. Acting on a tip-off, the Excise Department discovered 95.640 liters of foreign liquor concealed in the specially designed chamber beneath the train carriage. Despite a decade of prohibition, the smugglers’ creativity remains undiminished, as observed by passengers witnessing the operation.
During the operation, a Home Guard jawan bravely crawled beneath the train to retrieve the hidden liquor bottles one by one, earning widespread admiration for his courage. The liquor seized was intended for sale and consumption during Holi, but timely intelligence thwarted the smugglers’ plans, leading to the recovery of the hidden bottles. Security agencies have now heightened inspections, focusing on the lower compartments of train carriages entering Bihar to prevent such incidents.
Demands for a review of the prohibition law have been growing over the past decade, with both opposition parties and members of the ruling NDA questioning the ban’s effectiveness in the legislative assembly.
