Four employees of the postal department were arrested sipping alcohol in their office chamber in the General Post Office (GPO) on Thursday afternoon.

Eric Anil (42), Amit Kumar (37), Rajiv Kumar (34) and Nawal Kishore (49) had organised a party in their office chamber, as two of their colleagues were about to retire on Thursday. To make the occasion memorable, the four employees had ordered liquor from a bootlegger.

Two liquor bottles of Royal Stag measuring 750ml, fruits such as apple, cucumber and snacks were ordered for the party. The party was being held in the cheque clearance room at the ground floor of the GPO on Buddha Marg.

However, their liquor party was foiled by police as a police team led by Patna DSP (law and order) Shibli Nomani based on a tip-off raided and caught the four in the act. Nomani said: 'The police had a tip-off that a liquor party was being held in one of the rooms of GPO. Based on inputs, we raided the spot and caught four them.' Nomani said: 'Two half-filled liquor bottles, fruits and snacks was recovered from the spot. The breathalyser tests were conducted at the spot which revealed that all the four persons had consumed liquor.'

The four will be sent to jail on Friday after producing them before magistrate. As per Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, government servant consuming liquor nabbed by police is suspended from job and even likely to be terminated from his service.

Arun Jha, the deputy chief post master said: 'As per government rules, if any government servant is in police custody and within 48 hours he or she doesn't get bail, he will be suspended from his job. In the postal department employees' case, all four will be suspended.' Jha also said: 'Apart from police action, the postal department too will take departmental action against them.'

Sources in the postal department said all four were sincere and hardworking workers. A staff of postal department said: 'The four were hardworking and intelligent. But their overconfidence as trapped them.'

Police are interrogating them about the name of persons who supplied them liquor. Sources said liquor was supplied by a bootlegger.