Overview
- Officials now count nine fatalities in East Champaran after people drank suspected spurious liquor sold in Motihari’s Turkauliya and Raghunathpur areas.
- Police said 15 people are in custody, a murder case is on file, and a Special Investigation Team is tracing the supply chain as seized samples go for chemical testing.
- The Turkauliya police station chief was suspended, and raids with the Anti‑Liquor Task Force continue in nearby villages where officers seized suspected industrial spirit carried in yellow oil cans.
- Doctors are treating survivors for poisoning symptoms and vision loss, and one patient remains in critical care, while post‑mortem reports are still awaited to confirm the cause of death.
- The deaths have renewed scrutiny of Bihar’s 2016 alcohol ban, with Opposition leaders arguing lax enforcement lets illegal liquor networks operate despite repeated mass poisonings.