Four die in suspected hooch tragedy in Bihar's Barh; Opposition demands inquiry
Four persons died after consuming suspected spurious liquor in Bedhna village under Barh police station in Patna district on Sunday, August 30, 2026. They were taken to a government hospital, where they died during treatment. The Barh Sub Divisional Police Officer, Ayush Srivastava, said the exact cause of death can be ascertained only after the post-mortem report, which is yet to come.
Family members of the deceased, identified as Sashi Kumar, Vikas Ram, Pankaj Singh, and Nishu Kumar, have said that the four men fell ill soon after consuming illegal liquor and possibly another intoxicating substance. Villagers claim they had informed the local police about the incident before the men were hospitalised.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav reacted to the deaths on Monday, saying the law and order situation in the State had collapsed completely and demanding a thorough inquiry. He noted that such incidents are not isolated and accused the administration of negligence. "Why are only poor people belonging to the Backward Classes losing their lives in such unfortunate hooch incidents, and are also being sent to jail on the pretext of hooch?" he asked.
On the government's side, Bihar Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha visited the family members of the deceased at Barh on Monday and assured them of all possible help. He said the family members asserted that the victims had consumed "some poison-like substance". Sinha added that a senior Barh official is directing the inquiry and that "the guilty will not be spared at any cost".
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Bihar party president Sanjay Saraogi, also called for strict action against the guilty. Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha, an alliance partner of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, urged people to abstain from alcohol. "Even if it is not spurious, it takes people in the direction of death. People should understand this and quit alcohol consumption," he said, while also urging the local administration to "strictly punish" the guilty.
Bihar has been a dry State since April 2016 under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016. Since then, nearly 200 people have died in hooch tragedies in the State, according to official data. More than 17 lakh people have been arrested under the Act, and over 11.37 lakh cases have been registered till March 2026. Of those arrested, more than 6.4 lakh have been convicted.
The stringent provisions of the prohibition law have led to severe punishments. In the past decade, nine persons have been awarded death sentences, 18 have been awarded life imprisonment, and 222 others have been given jail terms exceeding 10 years, a senior official at the Patna Police Headquarters said. Among those convicted, 6,38,574 were held guilty under Section 37 (consuming liquor or creating a nuisance at a public place under the influence of liquor), while the others were convicted under Section 30 (manufacture, sale, storage, and transportation of illegal liquor) of the Act.
