Patna: In a shocking incident of lawlessness unfolding in Bihar, a police officer was crushed to death by a liquor mafia in the Begusarai district of Bihar. The victim, identified as Sub-Inspector Khamas Chowdhary, was on patrolling duty for the Nawakothi police station in Begusarai when the incident took place late on Tuesday night.

Acting on a tip-off that a large quantity of liquor bottles was slated for delivery in Begusarai, Chowdhary and his team set up surveillance near the Chitauna Bridge. Their mission was to intercept the illicit liquor transport. As the car transporting the contraband approached, Chowdhary and his team moved to nab the mafia.

Suddenly, the driver of the vehicle callously rammed it into Sub-Inspector Khamas Chowdhary, leading to his death at the scene. The impact also left one home guard jawan, identified as Baleshwar Yadav, injured.  

Yadav is undergoing treatment at a local hospital."Those who didn't come in the way of the speeding car escaped but Khamas Chowdhary was killed on the spot. We had gone there to nab the liquor mafia", Yadav told Republic TV.

Meanwhile, the family members are distraught after the tragic demise of Khamas Chowdhary, a native of the Madhubani district of Bihar. Speaking to Republic TV, the only son of the slain officer, Raushan Kumar (12) said, "We got a phone call that my father is not well. Hence we rushed immediately with family , only to learn that my father had been killed by the Liquor Mafia."

A single arrest has been made so far in connection with the incident. Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Police (SP), Begusarai has constituted a Special Task Force (STF) to nab the perpetrators involved in the case.

Yogendra Kumar, SP of Begusarai district said, "The vehicle owner Rupesh Kumar has been arrested. After investigations, we have found out that there were constant phone calls between the driver and Rupesh and thereby establishing the modus operandi . We are in search of the driver and the vehicle . FIR has been registered in this case. STF has been constituted to nab the culprits. We are ensuring that the family members do not fave any kind of difficulty in terms of receiving compensation which is due for an officer who is killed while on duty."  

On the other hand, Union minister and Begusarai MP, Giriraj Singh has questioned the prohibition policy of Nitish Kumar. "It's only because of the wrong prohibition laws, that lakhs of people are behind bars and the liquor mafias have flourished in Bihar, creating a parallel economy of thousands of crores. Liquor mafias have killed many officers in Bihar. Nitish Kumar should roll back this decision and call an all-party meeting. The CM should be held responsible for the killing of the police officer and some action should be taken against him."

This is not the first time police or Govt officers have become the victims of Liquor mafia. On April 25th, a female Excise officer was targeted and attacked by liquor mafias. Subsequently, on July 25th, 2023, a home guard jawan lost his life in East Champaran district at the hands of liquor mafias.

The violence persisted on August 28th in Aurangabad district when a police party came under attack, resulting in several police officials sustaining injuries. The challenges faced by law enforcement were starkly evident again on September 19th when mafias attacked a police party that had successfully apprehended a liquor mafia, allowing the accused to escape with impunity. The wave of attacks continued into October when, in Raghopur, Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav's constituency, a police party faced aggression from illegal liquor mafias.