RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav slammed the Bihar government on Monday (August 31, 2026) over the death of four persons, allegedly after consuming spurious liquor in dry Bihar on Sunday (August 30) at Bedhna village, which comes under the Barh police station in Patna district. The law and order situation in the State had “collapsed completely”, Mr. Yadav claimed, demanding a “thorough inquiry” into the incident.The family members of the four deceased individuals in Sunday’s incident have said they fell ill soon after they consumed illegal liquor. They were taken to nearest government hospital, where they died during treatment. The villagers claimed they had informed the local police that the four men, identified as Sashi Kumar, Vikas Ram, Pankaj Singh, and Nishu Kumar, had consumed alcohol and possibly another intoxicating substance with it. “The exact cause of their death can only be ascertained after the post-mortem report, which is yet to come,” Barh Sub Divisional Police Officer Ayush Srivastava said.“This is not a solitary occurrence in the State — such deaths are happening regularly and the largely negligent administration should look into it,” Mr. Yadav said. “Why are only poor people belonging to the Backward Classes losing their lives in such unfortunate hooch incidents, and are also being sent to jail on the pretext of hooch?” he added.Bihar Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha visited the family members of the deceased at Barh on Monday, and assured them of “all possible help”. The family members asserted the victims had “consumed some poison-like substance”, Mr. Sinha said, adding that a senior Barh official was directing the inquiry. "The guilty will not be spared at any cost,” the Minister said.Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Bihar party president Sanjay Saraogi, voiced similar views and called for strict action against the guilty.Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha, an alliance partner of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), called for abstinence from alcohol. “Even if it is not spurious, it takes people in the direction of death. People should understand this and quit alcohol consumption,” Mr. Kushwaha said, urging the local administration to “strictly punish” the guilty.Bihar was declared a dry State in April 2016. Since then, nearly 200 people have died in hooch tragedies in the State. Over 17 lakh people have been arrested under the provisions of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, and more than 11.37 lakh cases have been registered till March 2026. Of those arrested, over 6.4 lakh have been convicted.In the past decade, under the stringent Prohibition law, nine persons have been awarded death sentences, 18 have been awarded life imprisonment, and 222 others awarded jail term exceeding 10 years, a senior official at the Patna Police Headquarters said. Of those convicted, 6,38,574 were held guilty under Sections 37 (consuming liquor or creating nuisance at a public place under the influence of liquor), and the others were convicted under Section 30 (manufacture, sale, storage, and transportation of illegal liquor) of the the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act. Published - August 31, 2026 09:32 pm IST
