PATNA: The Bihar government, determined to prevent the entry of liquor into the State, has sought cooperation from the police of other states in implementing the strict prohibition regime in force in the State for the past 14 months.
Teams of Bihar police officers have been sent to five states – Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab – to hold talks with police and Excise Department officials there and request them to detect and unload liquor from Bihar-bound trucks originating in those states.
The move came after senior police officers in Bihar held a meeting last week to discuss the seizure of large quantities of liquor across the State almost on a daily basis despite the Statewide prohibition enforced by the Nitish Kumar-led government in April 2016. Entry of liquor hidden in trucks coming from other states was identified as the major reason behind the illegal availability of liquor in Bihar and a proposal was passed to begin a process of seeking cooperation with police departments in other states. The proposal was approved by DGP P K Thakur and it finally got the go-ahead from the chief minister, said sources.
“The five states were identified after a survey of recent seizures of liquor entering Bihar secretly in trucks. The liquor was found to have been loaded on to the trucks mostly in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab,” said additional superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar Dubey, the nodal officer for prohibition in Bihar.
The police teams despatched to these five states would make formal requests to senior officers of police, excise and other departments in those states to ensure that liquor is not loaded in trucks leaving for Bihar, he added.
“Officials of the police, excise, sales tax and customs departments in these five states are being requested to ensure thorough checks of Bihar-bound trucks leaving from or entering their territories for the presence of liquor. They are also being urged to inform Patna police about detection of liquor in trucks and the origin and destination of those trucks so that it is easy to reach smugglers for legal action,” said Dubey.