A journalist of a Hindi daily was beaten up by liquor mafia in Bihar's Nawada district, police said.
The incident occurred when Vikas Kumar alias Sonu, working in the newspaper ‘Hindustan’ had gone to cover the raid on liquor mafia by a police team in Rajauli Dih area of the district, Rajauli police station SHO Awadhesh Prasad said.
Kumar, who received injuries in his head in the incident, was rushed to Rajauli primary heath centre from where he was referred to Gaya but the relatives took him to Ranchi for treatment, the SHO said.
The operation for brain injury has been completed at Ranchi, Dinesh Kumar Barnwal alias Pinku, Kumar's cousin, said adding that his brother's condition is stable. One person from Dih village has been arrested, the SHO said.
The Nitish Kumar government has clamped total prohibition in Bihar since April 2016. Kumar had announced a ban on the sale and consumption of country liquor as part of his key poll promises. The state administration has launched a vigorous drive to nab the violators the liquor law. The government had also decided to dish out toll-free numbers so that people can dial to provide information about illicit liquor business.
After 270 days into the ban, IndiaSpend conducted an analysis of the Bihar Police crime data. The study revealed that cognizable crime, which the police can investigate without a magistrate’s order rose 13 percent between April and October 2016, from 14,279 in April to 16,153 in October.
Despite all the efforts, the liquor business continues to flourish as is noticeable from frequent busts across the state. Illicit liquor is known to be sold at prices three to four times higher than the maximum retail price.
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