NEW DELHI, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Police in the eastern Indian state of Bihar have launched a probe into claims that rats have consumed thousands of liters of confiscated alcohol.
Bihar banned the sale and consumption of alcohol in 2016, as an effort to reduce domestic violence, harassment and poverty. Since then, police have seized more than 900,000 liters of liquor and arrested over 40,000 people for storing and selling liquor.
The seized liquor were stored in bottles and kept in police stations as evidence. Some police stations even rented private storage facilities for storing the bottles.
"Now, a probe has been ordered after some officials in police stations across the state claimed that much of the seized liquor was lost to rats. These police officials are not above suspicion. We will not spare anyone found guilty," a senior police official said Saturday.
Police have also said cops in police stations will now be routinely checked for drinking. "We will conduct routine breath analyser tests. Anyone found drunk will be booked under the state's stringent laws and they may even lose their jobs," said another police official.
Bihar's Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced the ban after coming to power for the second five-year term last year, despite estimations that the state will lose nearly 50 billion rupees (752 million U.S. dollars) in tax collection due to the move.
Alcohol is completely banned in the western state of Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while the southern state of Kerala and some other Indian states have imposed a partial ban.
