Underreported deaths, cremations without postmortem: what NHRC flags in its Bihar hooch deaths report
Calling the lack of government compensation “unfair”, the report says it is the duty of the state towards the “family members of those who died due to the failure to enforce its prohibition policy”
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The report, prepared after the committee met the families of 67 victims, pulled up the Saran and Siwan district administration, the state Excise department, and the Bihar government for the incident in December. (Representational)Reporting only 42 deaths in the December 2022 Bihar Hooch tragedy as against 75; cremating 32 bodies without postmortem; hospitals being ill-equipped to deal with the victims; the police and district magistrates not cooperating with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) teams that had come to investigate; and the lack of compensation to the affected families.
These are some of the issues that have been flagged in a report by a 13-member commission set up by the NHRC, which had taken suo motu cognisance of the deaths in the dry state caused due to the consumption of spurious liquor.
The report, prepared after the committee met the families of 67 victims, pulled up the Saran and Siwan district administration, the state Excise department, and the Bihar government for the incident in December.
The NHRC report says: “Firstly, the number of persons dying due to consumption of liquor is being suppressed and the extent of tragedy minimised. This minimisation happens by not registering or recognising such deaths as caused by spurious liquor, by not conducting post mortems or accepting requests for not doing postmortem, or ascribing the deaths to extraneous factors”.
It added, “The epicenter of this liquor tragedy was the area in the jurisdiction of Mashrak, in which 45 persons died (of the total 77), while the official death toll in this area was placed at 27. In its Bahrauli Panchayat alone, 14 persons died, while 4 lost their vision…Among the 77 deceased, there were 61 in the earning age group of 20 to 60 years, or those who were earning members of the family. The deceased also included 2 teenagers and 14 persons above 60 years… 75 per cent were Scheduled Caste and OBC.”
It said that the “affected families tried to avoid informing the police” due “to perceived fear of legal consequences of reporting the matter”.
The human rights body spoke of “inadequate health preparedness” in such cases among primary healthcare centres, despite the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act being in force for over seven years now.
Days after the incident in December, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had said, “No compensation will be given to people who died after drinking…We have been appealing- if you drink, you will die…those who talk in favour of drinking will not bring any good to you…”, said Kumar.
The lack of compensation, the report said, was “unfair on two counts”. “Firstly, it amounts to punishing the innocents as the wives and children of these men who have lost their lives were in no way responsible for violation of the Excise laws. Secondly, it is the bounden duty of the state to offer relief/compensation to distressed persons, particularly family members of those who died due to the failure of the State to enforce its prohibition policy in an effective manner.”
Expressing displeasure with the police, the report said: “Senior district officials, SPs and DMs of districts Saran and Siwan, did not agree to meet the NHRC teams, despite requests made by the latter during their field visits. Officials of the Excise Department, too, did not meet the NHRC teams,” adding that the officials did not “provide any document or data related to the cases, accused, arrested, other than the seven FIRs relating to the liquor tragedy”.
It said, “Any police officer not below the rank of ASI has the power to arrest violators, search and seize without warrant and investigate cases (Sec. 73, 74 and 78 of the Act).. Chowkidars in every village are supposed to keep the local police Station informed of the happenings in their village. Availability of spurious liquor shows that they had been remiss in their duty”.
Referring to a Patna High Court’s observation on 12 October, 2022, that the “state authorities in Bihar have failed to implement complete prohibition to safeguard health, life and liberty of the people at large”, the NHRC said: “The Court also observed the rising trend of manufacturing and smuggling of liquor due to the deliberate inaction of state officials.”
While Bihar prohibition and excise minister Sunil Kumar did not respond to queries from The Indian Express , JD (U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj kumar said: “Our government reviews implementation of liquor law from time to time. We are open to suggestions from any constitutional body to take corrective steps*. RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehra echoed Kumar’s views, adding:”Our government will look into NHRC’s suggestions. The government has already taken several corrective measures after the incident.”
BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said: “The report has exposed the bad governance of Nitish Kumar and the way Nitishji has made liquor prohibition a prestige issue and failed to implement it in a proper manner. About three lakh people have been sent to jail till date. How can a CM run away from taking care of the deceased family who died because of the state government’s failure? “
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