"He has left behind his wife and son, we don't know what to do": Mother of deceased in Bihar liquor tragedy

A mother of the deceased said that her only son had passed away due to the consumption of spurious liquor.

"He was my only son and he passed away because he consumed the spurious liquor. He started vomiting and lost his eyesight. He has left behind his wife and children, we don't know what to do," said the wailing mother.

Meanwhile, the tragedy has turned into a political controversy with the opposition party RJD making an attack at the Nitish Kumar government.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Mrityunjay Tiwari on Thursday questioned on how despite the liquor ban in force spurious liquor was available in the state.

Speaking to ANI, Tiwari said "Despite the liquor ban in force in Bihar, spurious liquor was being sold. People have lost their lives by drinking spurious liquor in Siwan and it is a very sad. Every time during Holi and Diwali, it is seen how people die due to the spurious liquor. The NDA government is directly responsible for this."

Further, he added that the liquor mafias have the protection of the government and due to the protection, the prohibition law was being violated.

"The liquor mafias have the protection of the government and as long as they have the protection of the government, the prohibition of the law will be violated in the same way. The NDA government is not concerned at all about this. The people in the government themselves have accepted that the slaws are being violated," he said.

RJD MLA Bhai Birendra said that the government was involved with the liquor mafias in the tragedy that occurred.

Speaking to ANI, Birendra said "The government is involved with the liquor mafias in the tragedy. The government is only sitting and looking at whatever is happening. This has happened so many times in the state. The government needs to take action on this. The government has looted the money of the public. The Bihar government is a failure. I appeal to the government to provide an ex-gratia to the families of the deceased."

Siwan Councillor Sushil Kumar Dablu said that the administration always reports wrong figures and are trying to cover up the incident.

Speaking to ANI, he said "The administration always reports false figures. They are trying to cover up this incident also. Had the administration been on alert, the incident could have been prevented Ever since liquor has been banned in the state, the incidents have happened very frequently. Why is the administration trying to ignore this? The total number of deaths is nearing 50 and people are being burnt. Who else are we supposed to blame? How is the common man at fault here."

Bihar Excise Minister Ratnesh Sada said, "We stand with the families of the deceased in these grave times... The culprits will not be spared. Officials and concerned police personnel in the area have been suspended... 22 people are undergoing treatment. 3 people have lost their eyesight. 2 people have lost their lives in Chhapra and 6 have died in Siwan. SIT has been formed..."(ANI)