65 dead after drinking toxic liquor in India

News Desk :
Sixty-five people have now been confirmed dead in Chapra, in Bihar’s Saran district of India, due to the consumption of toxic liquor, news agency ANI reported.
The tragedy, the biggest since Bihar went dry more than six years ago, is the latest in a long list of such deaths in Bihar ever since Chief Minister Nitish Kumar imposed prohibition in 2016, according to a report of NDTV.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said that the number of people drinking toxic liquor in Bihar, both before and after prohibition, is low, adding that in other places where there is no prohibition, people are still dying after drinking toxic liquor.
“Madhya Pradesh is on top. Where is this not happening — Haryana, Uttar Pradesh. Go anywhere and it’s the same story. When they died of toxic liquor, we are saying you’ll die if you drink that. Why don’t you publish when they die in the same in other places? I will reiterate everywhere, if someone is speaking in favour of alcohol, it’ll never be to your benefit,” the minister added.
He then trained his guns towards the BJP, implying that the media disproportionately covers such tragedies in opposition-ruled states.
“In the state where the bridge collapsed, just one news was published and then nothing. When the same happened in Bengal, it ran for so long. We will popularise it more, that you’ll die if you drink alcohol. Those who died after drinking, we will give them compensation? It’s not going to happen,” he added.
The minister also refused to give compensation to the families of those killed, and said people should be “more vigilant” when the state anyway has prohibition.
India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notices to the Bihar government and the state’s police chief.
The sale and consumption of alcohol was completely banned in Bihar in April 2016, though its “implementation has been patchy,” the NHRC observed in a statement.