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News
India sentences man to 10 years for selling banned booze
A court in the northern Indian state of Bihar has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for selling a banned alcoholic beverage, the first conviction case in Bihar after the state introduced an alcohol ban in 2016.
Toddy is an alcoholic beverage made from the sap of various species of palm tree.
The man was found guilty of selling ‘toddy’, fermented palm tree juice, under section 30 (a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, according to Special public prosecutor Anil Kumar Singh, reported Hindustan Times.
Additional district and sessions judge Rama Rang Tiwari also handed down a fine of Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000 or US$1,560) on the offender, Sahni, a native of Dumarighar village in the district.
Sahni was caught selling two jerrycans containing 30 litres of toddy near state highway 74 at Bhawanipur in Sangrampur police station area on 15 November, 2016.
If he fails to pay the fine, Sahni will face an additional six months in prison.
The state’s tough prohibition ban also affected alcohol manufacturing, consumption and trade.
Local alcohol producers were forced to destroy more than 280,000 bottles of alcoholic drinks after the Supreme Court refused to extend the 31 July deadline for producers to deplete stocks following the prohibition ban in 2016.