Bihar Police seized foreign-made liquor worth approximately Rs 50 lakh and arrested four alleged smugglers from Rajasthan in a pre-dawn raid in Fatuha, in Patna district, ahead of the Chhath festival on Wednesday, November 11, news agency IANS reported.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

A total of 435 cartons containing 3,830.760 litres of liquor were recovered during the raid near a Bharat Petroleum pump in Muktakapur village, under Fatuha police station limits. Acting on a tip-off that a large consignment had been stored at the location, police formed a special team led by Inspector Ajit Kumar, which raided the premises at around 2 a.m. on Wednesday and found the cartons stocked there, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

Police said the liquor bottles carried labels indicating they were meant for sale in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana. The premises used for storing the liquor were sealed after the raid.

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The four arrested men were identified as Devaram, Bishnaram, Dayaram and Dinesh Kumar, all residents of the Sindhari police station area in Rajasthan's Barmer district. Police said the men were taken into custody for questioning to ascertain the source of the consignment and identify those who were to receive and distribute the liquor in Bihar, and that investigators are trying to establish the entire smuggling network, including suspected links in Bihar and other states.

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The accused have been booked under the relevant sections of the liquor prohibition law and will be produced in the district court on Thursday, police said. Liquor has been banned in Bihar since April 2016, a decision taken by the then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA