Nine Years of Prohibition in Bihar: Over 3.8 Crore Litres of Liquor Seized, Nearly 14.3 Lakh Arrests Made

9 years have passed since the successful implementation of the complete prohibition law in the state. This bold decision of Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar, which came into effect from April 05, 2016, brought a big change in the lives of a large number of people in the state and they got many better options for alternative living. On the other hand, action was also taken on a large scale against those who violated this law. From April 2016 to March 2025, 3 crore 86 lakh 96 thousand 570 liters of liquor was recovered across the state. This includes 2 crore 10 lakh 64 thousand 584 liters of foreign and 1 crore 76 lakh 31 thousand 986 liters of country liquor. 1 crore 18 lakh 16 thousand 288 liters have been seized from the level of the Prohibition and Excise Department and 2 crore 68 lakh 80 thousand 282 liters of liquor has been seized by the police. This information has been shared in the data released from the level of the Excise and Prohibition Department.

Under the Sustainable Livelihood Scheme, 45 thousand 994 families associated with the traditional business of liquor and toddy have been selected for alternative business. In this, Rs 163 crore has been distributed among 42 thousand 809 families.

3.77 crore lakh liters of liquor destroyed till March

Out of 3 crore 86 lakh 96 thousand 570 liters of liquor seized in the state in the last 9 years, 3 crore 77 lakh 28 thousand 713 liters of liquor has been destroyed till March 2025. This is 97 percent of the total seized liquor. That is, 9 lakh 67 thousand 857 liters of liquor is still left to be destroyed. Its process is also going on. As soon as permission is received from the court, these will also be destroyed.

More than 9 lakh cases registered

Under the prohibition law, 9 lakh 36 thousand 949 cases have been registered for violating it in some form or the other during the last 9 years. In this, 4 lakh 24 thousand 852 FIRs have been registered by the Excise and Prohibition Department and 5 lakh 12 thousand 97 FIRs have been registered by the police. 14 lakh 32 thousand 837 accused have been arrested in these cases. In this, 6 lakh 18 thousand 134 arrests have been made at the level of the Prohibition Department and 8 lakh 14 thousand 703 arrests have been made by the police department.

Sentence pronounced in 99 percent of the cases

From April 2016 to March 2025, 9 lakh 36 thousand 949 excise cases have been registered in the Excise Courts. Till March this year, 4 lakh 18 thousand 954 cases have been executed, which is 45 percent of the total registered cases. In the executed cases, 4 lakh 16 thousand 97 accused have been sentenced, which is about 99 percent of the total executed cases.

1.40 lakh vehicles seized

Under this law, 1 lakh 40 thousand 279 vehicles have been seized during the last 9 years. In this, 74 thousand 725 vehicles have been auctioned till March this year, from which an amount of Rs 340 crore 55 lakh has been received. 17 thousand 163 vehicles have been released by paying penalty. Rs 81 crore 41 lakh has been received from this.

8 thousand 268 buildings seized

In the case related to violation of prohibition law, 8 thousand 268 buildings or plots have been seized. In this, 584 buildings or plots have been released by paying penalty, which has generated an income of Rs 8 crore 23 lakh. These are such buildings or plots, where liquor was hidden or made. So that it could be smuggled.

From dogs to scanners to catch liquor

From sniffer dogs, breath analysers to handheld scanners, help is being taken to catch illegal liquor consignments in the state and to catch liquor during raids. There are 33 sniffer dogs in the department. 890 breath analysers and 12 handheld scanners have been deployed at checkposts. Apart from this, call centres have also been set up in the department. On an average, 300-400 calls are received daily, on the basis of which raids are conducted at the department level.