Patna Mar 30 PTI A Special Investigation Team has been set up to crack the case of murder of a leader of the ruling JDU in Bihar who was gunned down near here two days agoPatna Senior Superintendent of Police Manavjeet Singh Dhillon also said a few people have been detained in connection with the murder of JDU leader Deepak Mehta though he did not divulge detailsThe SIT is working on clues based on which some people have been rounded up for questioning We hope to solve the case very soon the SSP told reportersMehta who was the vice president of the Danapur Nagar Parishad was sprayed with bullets on Monday night by motorcycle-borne assailants said to be three in numberThe killing which took place on the outskirts of Bihars capital city has triggered outrage among residents of Danapur and provided the opposition in the state with fresh ammunition to target the Nitish Kumar government on the issue of law and order PTI NAC MM MM

Patna Mar 26 PTI Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday sacked Mukesh Sahani the minister for fisheries and animal husbandry from his cabinet highly placed sources said hereThey said the recommendation to this effect has been sent to the Governor following a written submission from ally BJP which had contended that Sahani who is the founding chief of Vikassheel Insaan Party was no longer a part of the NDASahani was inducted into the cabinet at the instance of the BJP which had also got him elected to the legislative council since he had lost his assembly seat PTI NAC MM MM

Patna Mar 23 PTI Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday expressed grief over the fire accident in Telangana which killed 11 migrant workers in the early hoursKumar announced ex-gratia to the next of the kin of each deceased and said steps were being taken to bring back the mortal remainsIt is a tragic incident I have learnt that the government of Telangana has announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the families of each of the deceased We will give another Rs two lakhOur Resident Commissioner in New Delhi has been asked to get in touch with the southern state for bringing back the mortal remains he addedThe fire broke out inside a scrap godown in Hyderabad and spread to a room constructed on the upper storey where a dozen migrant workers were sleeping out of whom only one could run to safety PTI NAC MM MM

Patna Feb 28 PTI Tipplers in dry Bihar may now be let off without a jail sentence if upon being caught drunk they spill the beans on their suppliers a top official said here on MondayDeputy Commissioner Excise Krishna Kumar told reporters that the relaxation was being introduced with a view to tightening the noose on the network of smugglers and peddlersNow if a person is caught drunk he will be asked about the place and persons who made alcohol available to him A raid would be conducted on the basis of the tip-off and if the information is found correct the informant will not be jailed he saidThe sale and consumption of alcohol were completely banned by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016 a year after the Chief Minister made a promise to the effect to women of the state who complained about growing drunkennessImplementation of the prohibition law which contains a number of draconian provisions has been patchy and the state has lost more than 50 lives in hooch tragedies reported since November lastHam-handed attempts by the police at enforcement which include arrests of visitors from outside the state and raids on wedding parties have led to much resentmentThe Chief Minister has been trying to make prohibition effective through didactic public meetings and equipping police personnel involved in the crackdown on violators with high-end resources like helicopters drones satellite phones motorboats and sniffer dogs PTI NAC MM MM

Patna Dec 30 PTI More than 100 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday in Bihar where the daily rise in tally had for months been in double or even single digits According to the health department altogether 132 people have tested positive pushing the active caseload to 333 a nearly tenfold rise since a month ago when it stood around 35 No casualties have been reported in the last 24 hours in the state where altogether 12096 people have lost their lives to the deadly virus The total number of people afflicted since the pandemic struck in March last year is 726738 As many as 714309 coronavirus patients have recovered from the disease in the state thus far According to the COWIN dashboard 993 crore doses have been to date administered in the state PTI NAC MM MM