At least 31 people died and 20 others were hospitalized in serious condition after allegedly drinking tainted liquor sold without authorization in eastern India, a top elected official said Thursday. The deaths occurred Tuesday and Wednesday and the victims belonged to three villages in Saran district of Bihar state where the manufacturing, sale and consumption of liquor are prohibited. The deaths were reported in a district government-run hospital where the sick were brought by their families for treatment, said Dr. S.D. Sinha, the hospital chief. Sale and consumption of liquor were prohibited in Bihar state in 2016 after women's groups campaigned against poor workers splurging their meager incomes on drinking. Police officer Santosh Kumar said several of the 20 hospitalized have lost their eyesight. Several opposition parties, including the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, held protests Thursday outside the state legislature building to demand the state's liquor ban be scrapped and some monetary compensation provided to the bereaved families. Read more: 28 people dead, 60 sick in India from drinking spiked liquor Sushil Modi, the state BJP leader, said more than 1,000 people have died after drinking tainted liquor since the ban was imposed six years ago. The BJP is in opposition in the state. Nitish Kumar, the state's top elected official belonging to the socialist party Janata Dal, rejected their demands and said the ban on the sale of liquor was “not my personal wish but a response to the cries of the women of the state.” Three people have been detained for questioning for allegedly selling spiked alcohol in the area, he said. Saran district is nearly 60 kilometers (40 miles) north of Patna, the Bihar state capital. Deaths from illegally brewed alcohol are common in India, where illicit liquor is cheap and often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase potency. Illicit liquor has also become a hugely profitable industry across India, where bootleggers pay no taxes and sell enormous quantities of their product to the poor at a cheap rate. At least 28 people died and 60 others became ill from drinking tainted liquor in the western Indian state of Gujarat earlier this year. Gujarat is another Indian state where the manufacturing, sale and consumption of liquor are prohibited. Read more: 39 die, dozens sick in India from drinking spurious liquor In 2020, at least 120 people died after drinking tainted liquor in India’s northern Punjab state.

In three separate drives, members of law enforcement agencies detained nine people, including eight Indian nationals, over possessing contraband drugs and foreign liquor from different parts of Jashore on Thursday. Acting on a tip-off, a team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) conducted a drive in the district’s Churipotti area and detained six people with 18 bottles of Indian liquor on Thursday noon. According to Rab-6 Jashore Company Commander Lieutenant M Najiur Rahman, all six of the detainees are Indian nationals. In another development, a team of the Detective Branch (DB) of police conducted a drive in the district’s Ashram Mor area and arrested two Indian nationals with 2,500 pieces of Tapentadol tablets, 40 bottles of local and nine bottles of Indian liquor on the same day. Read: Man held with drugs, foreign currencies in city Meanwhile, Jashore Kotwali Police informed that they arrested a local youth with 23 bottles of Phensedyl from the district’s Barandipara Dhaka Bridge area on Thursday night. Three separate cases have been filed with Jashore’s Kotwali Police station in this regard. Later, the detainees were sent to jail following the court’s order.

The customs seized two more large consignments of foreign liquors from Chattogram port Monday as the goods were imported under false declarations and through tax evasions. "We took possession of two more containers loaded with stashes of foreign liquors," Saiful Haque, deputy commissioner of Chattogram Customs House, said. The consignments of liquor were brought to Bangladesh under the declarations of yarn and resin imports by faking import permission and using the names of Mongla EPZ's VIP Industries Bangladesh and Nilphamari Uttara EPZ's Dong Jin Industrial. Also read: Man held with 12 gold bars at Ctg airport The customs seized five containers of foreign liquors in the last three days. Sunday, Chattogram Customs House took possession of one huge consignment of foreign liquors from Chattogram port. Using the name of Dong Jin of Uttara EPZ, the consignment of liquor was brought to Bangladesh under the declaration of yarn import from China by faking import permission. The importers evaded duty of Tk12.45 crore, Saiful said. Saturday, the customs seized two large consignments of foreign liquors from Sonargaon and Narayanganj. Chattogram Customs House seized two containers loaded with huge stashes of foreign liquors during a special drive. Also read: Rab nabs 4, including cop, with Yaba pills in Ctg The consignments of liquor were released at the port under the declarations of textured yarn and machinery imports from China by faking import permission and using the names of Cumilla EPZ's Hashy Tiger and Ishwardi EPZ's BHK Textile, Saiful said. As the shipments contained foreign liquor with high taxable value, importers evaded a duty of Tk24.70 crore.

The customs seized one large consignment of foreign liquors from Chattogram port Sunday as the goods were imported under false declaration and through tax evasion. The consignment of liquor was brought to Bangladesh under the declaration of yarn import from China by faking import permission and using the name of Dong Jin Industrial of Nilphamari's Uttara Export Processing Zone, Saiful Haque, deputy commissioner of Chattogram Customs House, said. He added: "The seized goods are being counted." Earlier, the customs seized two large consignments of foreign liquors from Sonargaon and Narayanganj in the early hours of Saturday. The goods were also imported through Chattogram port under false declaration and through tax evasion.

The customs seized two large consignments of foreign liquors from Sonargaon and Narayanganj in the early hours of Saturday as the goods were imported through Chattogram port under false declaration and through tax evasion. Chattogram Customs House seized two containers loaded with a huge stash of foreign liquors during a special drive. The consignments of liquor were released at the port under the declaration of importing textured yarn and machinery from China by faking import permission and using the names of Cumilla EPZ's Hashy Tiger and Ishwardi EPZ's BHK Textile, Saiful Haque, deputy commissioner of Chattogram Customs House, said Read: C&F agents’ strike: Unloading at 11 customs station including Benapole suspended on Tuesday

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Thursday claimed to have seized over 1 kg of crystal methamphetamine, 143 bottles of liquor and 50kg of nets in separate drives across Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar. Tipped off, a team of BGB-2 intercepted a boat in which two smugglers from Myanmar were heading towards Jaliar Dwip around 1am, said Commander of Teknaf Battalion-2, Lieutenant Colonel Sheikh Khalid Mohammad Iftekhar. Also read:BGB recover drugs worth Tk 335 crore including yaba, crystal meth since January The smugglers, however, jumped into the Naf river and managed to escape. Later, the BGB men seized 1.056 kg of crystal meth and 50 kg of nets worth Tk 5.28 crore from the boat. In another drive in Karingaghona, when a team of BGB-Teknaf Battalion challenged 6-7 smugglers carrying sacks to a nearby village in the small hours of Thursday. Though the smugglers managed to escape, they left the sacks behind. The BGB men found 143 bottles of illicit liquor worth Tk 2.14 lakh in the sacks.

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Monday seized 2.119 kg crystal methamphetamine (Ice) and 118 bottles of liquor in separate drives at Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar. Tipped off, a team of BGB-2 challenged two smugglers coming from Myanmar at Keora near Domdomia BOP around 4am, said Commander of Teknaf Battalion-2 Lieutenant Colonel Sheikh Khalid Mohammad Iftekhar. Also read:Rohingya man held with 1.06kg crystal meth in Cox’s Bazar Sensing danger, the smugglers left the drugs and fled the scene immediately. Later, the BGB men seized 1.056 kg of crystal meth worth Tk 5.28 crore. In another drive at Shah Porir Dwip, when a team of BGB-2 challenged 2-3 smugglers coming from Myanmar by a boat trough the Naf River around 3am the smugglers jumped into the river and managed to escape. Later, the BGB men seized 1.063 kg crystal meth and 118 bottles of toxic liquor worth Tk 5.33 crore from the boat. Also read:BGB recover drugs worth Tk 335 crore including yaba, crystal meth since January However, the BGB men couldn’t arrest anyone during the drives.

Pabna, Sept 22 (UNB) – Police here on Sunday seized a total of 28 bottles of foreign liquor along with a mobile phone from a drum that was floating on the Padma River near Goaria Bazar in Sujanagar Upazila.    Hadiul Islam, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Sujanagar Police Station, said that some fishermen spotted the drum when they were fishing in the morning and informed police.