Rodents are the new tipplers in town if Patna district police officials are to be believed. They have guzzled several lakh litres of liquor from seized stocks stored in police stations, Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna, Manu Maharaj was informed by his subordinates during a meeting on Tuesday.

The meeting of police inspectors of the district had been convened in view of the upcoming civic body elections.

When Mr. Maharaj enquired about the seized contraband, he was informed that most of the liquor bottles either were consumed by the rats or destroyed by them.

Space crunch

Ever since prohibition was imposed in Bihar since April 2016, the police have had to contend with smuggling of liquor from the neighbouring States. Consequently almost all the police stations have been facing a space crunch to store the seized bottles. Some of them, especially in the border areas, even have had to take space on rent for use as godowns.

Every day, thousands of bottles are being seized by the police, excise and prohibition officials. The government records said over five lakh litres of liquor has been seized and more than 40,000 people have been arrested in the last one year in the State.

When Mr. Maharaj wondered how a rat could open a liquor bottle made of glass, he was informed by his subordinates that the rodents nibble off the cap and consume the liquor. He immediately asked the officials to make all police stations free of rats.

Breathalyser test

When contacted over phone, Mr. Maharaj told The Hindu that he had also ordered that police officials too would now have to go through random “breathalyser test” at police stations and if they fail the test they could even lose their jobs, apart from being prosecuted under the new stringent excise and prohibition laws.