Sipu Jha
LUCKNOW: As Bihar prepares for its upcoming assembly elections, liquor smugglers are intensifying efforts to sneak alcohol into the dry state. In a dramatic incident aboard the Lucknow Junction–Barauni Express (Train No. 15204), 316 whisky bottles were discovered hidden inside the air-conditioning duct of an AC-2 tier coach.The discovery was made on Tuesday afternoon when a passenger complained about poor cooling in the sixth row of coach A2. Upon inspection, a railway technician found whisky bottles wrapped in newspaper obstructing airflow above berths 32 and 34. The stash included 256 bottles of Officer’s Choice and 60 bottles of After Dark Blue whisky, each 180 ml, totaling nearly 57 litres of illegal liquor.The onboard GRP team from Basti, which had taken charge of the train at Burhwal Junction, was alerted immediately. Upon arrival at Basti station, a joint team of GRP and RPF recovered the entire consignment. Passengers captured the moment on video, with one officer heard exclaiming, “Yeh dekhiye khazana!” (“Look at this treasure!”).Station House Officer of Basti GRP, Pankaj Kumar Yadav, confirmed the arrest of Ashish Kumar, a coach attendant from Khagaria district in Bihar. During interrogation, Ashish admitted to regularly smuggling liquor from Uttar Pradesh to Bihar, where prohibition laws have created a thriving black market. He revealed that he concealed the bottles in the AC duct to avoid detection and sold them at double the price to support his family.Ashish has been booked under Section 60 of the Excise Act and sent to jail.Interestingly, Ashish’s official duty as coach attendant was in a different coach, but to guard his illegal whisky consignment, he had moved to A2 coach, while the actual coach attendant (identity withheld by TOI) was on leave.
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