Rich haul of liquor seized in Dry Bihar

In a rich haul, more than 378 pouches of country liquor and around 300 bottles of IMFL were seized from the city and two other places of Bihar on Wednesday where a total prohibition is in place.

The police raided Hardinge Park area in Patna and arrested seven women who were allegedly illegally trading in pouches of country liquor, Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj said in a statement.

The 378 pouches of country liquor that the women had brought for selling were seized.

During questioning, the women said they had smuggled the pouches into Patna from neighbouring Jharkhand, the statement said.

Over 300 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) were also seized from Munger and Nawada districts of Bihar and and five people, including two women, were arrested.

Acting on a tip off that a huge consignment of foreign liquor was being smuggled into Bihar from Jharkhand, police increased vigilance at the inter-state border and found 214 bottles in a car at Nauaghat More in Munger district.

Superintendent of Police Ashish Bharti said police arrested Rohit Singh, who runs an upscale hotel in Ranchi, and seized 11 ATM cards from him.

He was later sent to jail, the SP said, adding, his two accomplices managed to give police a slip.

Four persons, including two women, were arrested by excise officials for possessing foreign and country liquor while checking a bus at an integrated checkpost at Rajauli in Nawada district.

Excise Department Superintendent Prem Prakash said 83 bottles of foreign liquor have been recovered from the two women. The bottles were packed in nine bags and kept in the bus which was on its way to Biharsharif from Kolkata.

Prakash said the women were identified as residents of Biharsharif, the headquarter town in Nalanda district.

One bottle of foreign liquor was seized from another person and and one and half litres of country-made liquor was seized from another. Both of them were arrested, he said.

The first one was identified as a resident of Sheikhpura district and the other of Simdega district of Jharkhand, police added.