PATNA: In yet another suspected hooch tragedy in dry Bihar, altogether three persons died while one other fell sick in the last two days in a village in Darbhanga district.
Police said, two persons died on Monday in Maksudpur village under Hayaghat block of Darbhanga district while third one breathed his last at the Darbhanga Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in Laheriasarai on Tuesday morning.
Police got information about the sudden suspicious death of two persons and illness of other two persons because of "consumption of some suspicious items" in Maksudpur village, on Monday.
A police team led by Darbhanga SSP Avakash Kumar reached the village on Monday night and searched the houses of the affected persons and talked to their family members. But, all in their families denied that either of the two deceased persons had taken illicit liquor.
But the matter took a serious turn on Tuesday morning when another sick villager Laltoon Sahni died at the DMCH. Doctors told the police that Laltoon had all symptoms of having consumed illicit liquor.
Some of the villagers told reporters that all the three deceased persons and two others had consumed illicit liquor in the village on Monday.
"Bodies of the two deceased persons, Santosh Das and Bhukhla Sahni, were cremated in the village by family members soon after they died on Monday evening. Post-mortem examinations could, therefore, not be conducted. We recorded the statements of their family members. However, a post-mortem examination of the third deceased was conducted at the DMCH on Tuesday. We are waiting for the post-mortem report to know the reason behind the deaths," the SSP told TOI over phone on Tuesday.
The SSP also said the sick person who was getting treatment at a private hospital in Samastipur, has now been shifted to the DMCH and he is out of danger. He also denied consuming liquor.
Manufacturing, transportation, sale and consumption of liquor and any kind of alcohol were completely banned in the state by the Nitish Kumar government since April 5, 2016.
