Moonshine melodrama: Bihar’s liquor mafia

Bureaucratic and political circles have estimated that the five years of liquor ban has created a parallel economy in illicit liquor, worth Rs 10,000 crore

Nalini Verma

The top brass of Bihar’s administration—the chief secretary and the Director General of Police among others—hurriedly converged to inspect some empty bottles of liquor found on the premises of the Bihar Assembly on December 4.

It offered an interesting view—the DGP was spotted smelling an empty bottle recovered from beneath a tree on the House’s premises to have a sense of the brand the bottle contained before it was emptied. The matter was more “serious” because the House was in session and the chief minister, Nitish Kumar—who has clamped the prohibition in the manner unprecedented in any part of the world not to speak of an Indian state—was present in the House.

The death of 65 persons in the hooch tragedy (the official figure) in the last one year has not buzzed the administration. The bureaucratic and political circles have estimated that the five years of liquor ban has created a parallel economy worth Rs 10,000 crore sustaining on the illicit production, supply and consumption of liquor with the nexus of businessmen, politicians, excise officials and police which is summed up in one word—“mafia”.

But the ruling machinery comprising the CM, his ministers, bureaucrats and police brass haven’t shown much concern over the toll, the ban on the liquor is taking on the state’s economy, lives and livelihood in the last five years—Nitish government clamped blanket ban on liquor in April 2016 and declared its possession and consumption a “punishable act”. As many as 72,000 people—mostly the poor-- are currently in jail in connection with consuming or supplying liquor, according to official figures with prison authorities. Still, how could the empty bottles of liquor have made their way into the hallowed precincts of the Assembly when Nitish Kumar—who earned the sobriquet of sushashan babu (symbol of good governance) in the first five years of his tenure (2005-2010) –was present in the House while it was in session? The Chief Secretary and the DGP would have to answer him as to who emptied the bottles, who supplied them and how the bottles found their way in the House’s premises.

On December 6—two days after the recovery of the empty bottles—the chief minister ordered a “high level” probe announcing to the media, “the investigation into the episode (recovery of bottle) will be monitored closely”. The grapevine has it that the CM is “very serious” about the issue and he is regularly reviewing the progress in the investigation with the top brass of the police, excise department and bureaucracy.

New Normal

“It’s a classic example of absurdity becoming a normality”, remarked the veteran Socialist leader and Rastriya Janata Dal vice president, Shivanand Tiwary. Tiwary has just summed up what even the close associates of Nitish Kumar in politics and bureaucracy and people at large perceive.

It’s an open secret that Bihar like any other state has many senior IAS and IPS officers besides the politicians who are connoisseurs of liquor. The state borders Bengal and in the east, Uttar Pradesh in the west, Jharkhand in the south and Nepal in the north—the states and the country where liquor is legally available.

The state still has many politicians and bureaucrats who enjoyed liquor in front of the chief minister at the parties and functions prior to liquor ban. Of course, Nitish is a teetotaler but was hardly known for imposing his personal taste with the food and beverage on others prior to clamping liquor ban in Bihar in 2016.

Kebab and Butter Story

After becoming the chief minister, Nitish organised a big event on the occasion of Durga Puja at the Patna Gandhi maidan. Lakhs of people gathered and stayed seated all through the night to listen to the classical and folk musicians from across the country on the occasion. The CM himself stayed seated with the people to enjoy it. As it happened, a folksinger sang a Bhojpuri song which the famous Tabla maestro, Godai Maharaj didn’t like.

After the turn of the folk singer was over, Godai Maharaj remarked angrily, “Kebab aur Makhhan ek saath nahin parosa jana chahiye (Kebab and butter should be served simultaneously)”. Apparently, through the innuendo, Godai Maharaj meant to describe his classical performance of Tabla as “butter” and the song of the folksinger as “kebab”. Nitish rose to intervene and said, “Both kebab and butter are meant to be eaten. The people have a choice of what they wish