Patna, June 1: The chief judicial magistrate of Ara civil court today granted a government doctor and his assistant - who the Nawada police in Bhojpur district had arrested on Saturday night for allegedly consuming liquor - bail after the report of a four-doctor medical board set up by civil surgeon S.K. Aman said the duo had not consumed alcohol.

Shatrughna Prasad, in-charge of Kesath primary health centre in Buxar district, was on his way to his native village Vishnupura in Bhojpur with his assistant Anil Prasad. The duo were arrested after they honked the horn of a car they were in to overtake a government vehicle.

Bhojpur superintendent of police (SP) Kshatranil Singh said that the breathalyser had confirmed the two were inebriated.

"We will seek an explanation from the civil surgeon under what circumstances a medical board was constituted to conduct medical examination on the doctor and his compounder," he added.

The SP said the forensic report on the duo's blood samples was still awaited, and "the police would submit charge sheet against the two even after the medical report didn't corroborate the charges."

Patna High Court lawyer Rajesh Ranjan Kumar Pandey pointed out that the duo were booked under sections 47 and 54 of the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016. Section 47 deals with export, import, transportation, production, possession and sale of liquor. Section 54 deals with possession. However, the police had not recovered any liquor from the doctor's car.

The breathalyzer had allegedly recorded 224mg alcohol intake.

"In such a condition, one can't drive a vehicle properly, which was not the case with the doctor," Pandey said. "In recent days, there has been an increase in reports of police and excise officials abusing the new prohibition law to harass people and extort money."

This is not the only incident of alleged misuse of the prohibition law. On May 18, three traders from Punjab were detained by a team of excise department officials in Kaimur allegedly for carrying liquor. They were released after they paid Rs 50,000 bribe . Later one of the victims, Satnam Singh, complained to Kaimur SP Harpreet Kaur. An FIR was lodged, and the excise department dismissed six employees. Two Special Auxiliary Police jawans' contracts were also cancelled.

Since total prohibition was clamped, 3,800 people have been booked across the state.