This is for boozers, illicit liquor producers, traders and suppliers in dry Bihar. For the last five months, an army of 20 Labrador sniffer dogs is being trained at Moinabad in Telangana to detect liquor and narcotics. The dogs are expected to arrive in Patna in the first week of February and play their role in implementing total prohibition in Bihar.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is unhappy with the police and excise officials for their slackness in catching the big fish in this trade and, as he said publicly, they were only arresting drivers and khalasis of the vehicles smuggling the liquor from other neighbouring States and Nepal.

The admission of the CM that liquor was being smuggled in and home delivery was still rampant has exposed the agencies involved in enforcing total prohibition. The home department is now expected to pin more hopes on canines than the army of officials in bid to satisfy Nitish, whose brainchild total prohibition has earned him bouquets and brickbats alike.

These 20 dogs had been purchased for Rs 35 lakh when they were six months old in July last. Since then they are undergoing rigorous training at Moinabad under the supervision of professional.

Bihar has also deputed 30 handler policemen there to keep a close watch on their training to sniff out narcotics and liquor.

Additional Director General of Police (CID) Vinay Kumar said, “These dogs are being imparted special training to search and find out all kinds of narcotics, liquor and spirit even if they are buried deep. They can also catch people who have consumed even a little.”

Sources in excise department said that in the first phase, these dogs would be deployed in border areas where they would be on duty on check posts with cops. They will check the vehicles entering Bihar from other neighbouring States. The sources said this would effectively check the smuggling of narcotics and liquor.

“For the first time, our dog squads will have services of sniffer dogs trained to catch liquor and this will help us effectively check the smuggling and smugglers,” said dog squad chief Om Prakash Srivastava. In Bihar only 10 districts have dog squads.

Nitish suspects that police and excise officials are hands in glove with bootleggers and that was the reason that they were getting away.