Patna, May 29: The recent gruesome murders and mysterious deaths of some big timers in liquor trade in at least two districts, including the state capital, points towards a never-ending bloody game of power and supremacy with the big fishes having the upper hand at most of the times.
Sources told The Telegraph that the reason behind the bloodshed was simple business rivalry and certain policies of the excise department and the administration was adding fuel to fire, prompting clash among traders and hiring of killers to eliminate their competitors.
“There are 87 foreign liquor shops in the Patna municipal area and 80 shops sell country spirit. Each year, in every district, a lottery is conducted for allotment of shops. This system is one among the biggest reasons behind the rivalry,” a liquor trader told The Telegraph.
He added: “A big-time retail seller, having 10 country spirit shops, and wishing to continue with the shops that generally rope in around 500 people (50 each for a shop) to make sure that he gets the licence. The licence is renewed every year through the lottery system, which is generally conducted by the district magistrate.”
He said: “One applying for a licence has to pay Rs 7,000 per shop to the excise department, which is non-refundable. Thus, a person having 10 shops invests Rs 3.5 lakh, which in no case will be returned to him. There are many others who apply for the same shops and pay the sum too.”
Anybody can take part in lottery. Established liquortraders don’t want new players in the business.
Talking about the lottery system, the liquor trader said every dealer is given a number.
It is like the Housie game. There are balls given to the applicants and another set are put in a pot. A person pulls out the number and the dealer with the same number gets the shop for a year. Problem arises when a big dealer, having 10 shops and has invested a lot of money, somehow doesn’t get the licence. His money is gone and the rivalry begins,” the trader said.
On May 26, liquor trader Anil Kumar Sah was murdered in Gopalganj, about 200km from the state capital. Sah’s family accused the Kochaikot JD(U) MLA, Amrendra Pandey, and his family members of Sah’s murder.
Sources said it was the lottery system, which had resulted in Sah’s murder, as he had got the possession of one of the shops through lottery recently.
An FIR was lodged on Sunday against JD(U) legislator from Kuchaikote Amrendra Kumar Pandey alias Pappu Pandey at Hathua police station in Gopalganj for allegedly plotting the murder of Sah, casting a shadow on the image of people’s representatives of the ruling alliance in the state.
The bloodshed for the possession of shops has rocked the state capital, too, with the two murders — one Saket Kumar Gupta and Prem Singh on May 7 and 9, respectively.
“Saket Kumar Gupta entered the bar-cum-restaurant business recently. He had powerful contacts because he was the cousin of a director-general rank police officer. Prem Singh, who was named in the FIR for the murder of Gupta, was a veteran in the business.
For over a decade, Prem owned a bar near Gaighat and another one near Anand Talkies, the movie theatre at Patna City. Gupta owned Anand Talkies.
While he had very strong connections with the police, Prem had good contacts with the excise department.
Problem started when Gupta opened a bar-cum-restaurant near Prem’s,” another liquor trader told The Telegraph.
Last year, Dussehra came as a major blow for Prem.
“During Dussehra last year, the police got information that Prem’s one of the bar-cum-restaurants was selling liquor on the dry day. The police raided and sealed the shop. Prem, with the help of his contacts, transferred the case to the excise department but had to pay a penalty of Rs 25,000 to get the bar reopened. Gupta wanted to rule the liquor trade in Patna City while Prem, who was an old-timer, couldn’t let that happen. This led to the murder of Gupta. Two days later, Prem’s body was found on Kumhrar railway crossing,” the trader added.
