Lagatar24 Desk
Chhapra, Dec 17: The death toll in the liquor tragedy that took place in Bihar’s Saran district has now risen to 70.
The tragedy began a political spat between the Janata Dal-United (JD(U)) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar. In response to the deaths, the BJP started a vicious attack on CM Nitish Kumar, claiming him accountable for the catastrophe.
Chirag Paswan, the leader of the Lok Janshakti Party (R) and a member of parliament, urged that an FIR be filed against the CM in this case as the dead toll is expected to rise.
However, Nitish Kumar declared on Friday that no compensation would be paid to the kin of the victims.
“No compensation will be given to people who died after drinking…We have been appealing- if you drink, you will die…those who talk in favour of drinking will not bring any good to you…”, said CM Nitish Kumar in the state assembly earlier on Friday.
Afterwards, the Bihar government and the state’s police chief received notices from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over the disaster. Notably, alcohol sales and consumption were outlawed in Bihar in April 2016, however, the NHRC noted that ‘implementation has been spotty’ since then.
Accordingly, it has sent notices to Bihar’s chief secretary and director general of police asking for a detailed report that includes the status of the FIR the police have filed, the medical care being provided to the victims who are being treated in hospitals, and any compensation given to the harmed families, according to the statement.
The commission is also interested in knowing what was done to punish the negligent policemen who caused the tragedy. It also said that the authorities should respond as soon as possible but no later than four weeks after these instructions were issued.
