The Nitish Kumar government have implemented total ban on liquor in Bihar earlier this year.
Patna:
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's project prohibition is having fallouts that, perhaps, were nowhere on its architects' radar. With police action following a tip-off about alcohol possession, it has become a tool of revenge.
The latest person to fall prey to it is Abhijeet Bhattacharya, a senior official of Patna's General Post Office.
On September 6, the police received an anonymous phone call that said the official has liquor in his possession.
But when the police raided his house, nothing was found. Enraged, Mr Bhattacharya took the officers to task and spoke of his ordeal on social media, causing a lot of embarrassment to the Patna police.
When the Chief Minister read the report on the incident, he instructed the officials to arrest the man who had made the anonymous phone call, sources said.
The police tracked down the number and found it belonged to one Amrendra Lal.
Mr Lal was promptly arrested. Sources said during questioning, he confessed that his wife was employed in the Postal Department and he made a living by selling stamps and postal orders on the black market.
A few months ago, Abhijeet Bhattacharya had joined as the head of Patna GPO and cracked down on touts. This hit Mr Lal hard and he decided to teach the man a lesson by using the liquor laws, sources said.
What he didn't anticipate was the promptness of the police raid - it happened before he managed to plant liquor bottles at Mr Bhattacharya's residence.
Sources said though he was careful enough to destroy his cellphone and sim, the police managed to catch him on basis of the call records at the police control room.
Last week, an Excise Department official was arrested for raiding the house of a Janata Dal United leader and arresting him. A magisterial inquiry found that the tip-off about liquor possession had been planted by his political rival.
Action was taken against the official, which led to the principal secretary of the department, K K Pathak, virtually walking out of the department.
The latest person to fall prey to it is Abhijeet Bhattacharya, a senior official of Patna's General Post Office.
On September 6, the police received an anonymous phone call that said the official has liquor in his possession.
But when the police raided his house, nothing was found. Enraged, Mr Bhattacharya took the officers to task and spoke of his ordeal on social media, causing a lot of embarrassment to the Patna police.
When the Chief Minister read the report on the incident, he instructed the officials to arrest the man who had made the anonymous phone call, sources said.
The police tracked down the number and found it belonged to one Amrendra Lal.
Mr Lal was promptly arrested. Sources said during questioning, he confessed that his wife was employed in the Postal Department and he made a living by selling stamps and postal orders on the black market.
A few months ago, Abhijeet Bhattacharya had joined as the head of Patna GPO and cracked down on touts. This hit Mr Lal hard and he decided to teach the man a lesson by using the liquor laws, sources said.
What he didn't anticipate was the promptness of the police raid - it happened before he managed to plant liquor bottles at Mr Bhattacharya's residence.
Sources said though he was careful enough to destroy his cellphone and sim, the police managed to catch him on basis of the call records at the police control room.
Last week, an Excise Department official was arrested for raiding the house of a Janata Dal United leader and arresting him. A magisterial inquiry found that the tip-off about liquor possession had been planted by his political rival.
Action was taken against the official, which led to the principal secretary of the department, K K Pathak, virtually walking out of the department.
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