PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Wednesday that nobody involved in illicit liquor smuggling will be spared. Hinting at tougher action to enforce prohibition in the state, he said, “If required, even aeroplanes will be deployed to identify the locations of liquor smugglers and nab them.”
“Jab tak hum hain chhodenge nahi. Agar kisi ke man mein kuchh idhar udhar hai to satark ho jayiye. Hum chhodane wale nahi hain (I will not spare anybody till I am on the chair. If somebody has something else in mind, be alert. I am not going to spare anybody),” he told the House on the third day of the budget session.
Taking part in the vote of thanks on the joint address of the state legislature by governor Phagu Chauhan, the Chief Minister said drones have already been pressed into service to ascertain the locations used for liquor brewing in violation of the prohibition law.
Referring to the law and order situation, Nitish said that there has been a substantial decline in all heads of crime in the state. He said the incidents of murder have declined by 11.14%, riots by 33.16% and dowry deaths by 4.4% as per the records of crime in 2020.
Drawing a comparison to RJD rule, the Chief Minister said that in 2005, the state had recorded 252 cases of kidnapping for ransom whereas only 37 cases of abduction for ransom were reported in 2021. Similarly, 3,423 murders took place in 2005, while the number reduced to 2,799 last year, he added.
He further stated that crimes against women have also declined. The rate of crimes against women in Bihar is only 26.3% against the national average of 56.5%. He claimed that around 25,000 women have been appointed in the state police force, which is the highest in the country.
He announced that one woman police officer would be deployed in each police station in he state.
Earlier, leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav took a swipe at the statement of a BJP MLA about withdrawal of voting rights from Muslims. He, however, asserted that nobody could snatch voting rights of Muslims.