A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in Patna High Court on Monday, demanding action against Patna police for dumping more than 1,000 litres of liquor in the Ganga.

On May 13, more than 1,000 litres of liquor seized from Sukumarpur diara areas of Vaishali district during a joint operation of Patna and Vaishali police was poured into the Ganga opposite Kangan Ghat.

During the Operation Clean, 12 liquor-manufacturing units were destroyed and around 20,000 litres of liquor were seized. When the liquor containers were emptied in the river, police officers from both the districts were present - as was at least one photographer.

Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaaj, however, on Monday denied that the Patna district police were involved in the dumping of liquor in the Ganga. He said the place was outside its jurisdiction.

The petitioner, high court advocate Manibhushan Pratap Sengar, said in his PIL that on one hand thousands of crores are being pumped in under the Centre's Namami Gange project to clean the Ganga while on the other hand liquor is being discharged in the river which is already polluted in Patna as untreated water from 174 drains flows out into the river.

Sengar has requested the court to seek an inquiry into the incident and take action against all police officers involved in the dumping of liquor into the Ganga.

He has made Union water resources secretary, Central Pollution Control Board chairman, Central Water Commission commissioner, Namami Gange Authority director-general, Bihar chief secretary, principal environment and forest department secretary, Bihar State Pollution Control Board chairman, Bihar director-general of police, Patna commissioner, Patna district magistrate, Patna SSP, Patna City SP and Patna City SDPO as parties (respondents) in the case.

Sengar, in his petition, has raised questions such as whether the respondents had the authority to throw liquor into the Ganga, whether their action amounts to negligence and illegality, and whether they had failed in their duties to keep the river clean.

The high court is already hearing a case related to pollution of the Ganga. Sengar has filed that petition as well, in which he has stated that almost 174 drains flow into the Ganga - right from Patna civil court to Digha - polluting the river.

Later on Monday, chief minister Nitish Kumar while talking to reporters during Lok Samvad programme said he was not aware of the incident. "I don't know who has done it."

However, Nitish conceded that dumping liquor into the Ganga was not permissible.

"I have given instructions to inform the court in case any seizure is made," he said. "Accordingly the illegal liquor will be destroy after taking legal recourse."