Ordinance to amend Excise Act receives Governor's assent

Bhubaneswar, Jun 1 (UNI) Orissa Governor Rameswar Thakur has given his assent to an ordinance amending the Bihar Orissa Excise Act 1915 to make excise offences non-bailable and cognizable with life imprisonment and a fine upto Rs.10 lakhs.

The Orissa Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had approved the ordinance on May 24 to make the Excise Act more stringent in a bid to check illicit liquor trade and liquor tragedy.

As per the new ordinance a new section has been introduced to provide life imprisonment and a fine of Rs.10 lakhs in case of death and disability of human being after consuming liquor with poisonous ingredients.

Provision has also been made in the ordinance to empower the excise officials with police power and apply CrPc in respect of arrest, search, detention, warrant and bail bond.

Official sources said with the Governor's assent to the ordinance, the state government could handle the liquor mafias with firm hand and take stringent action so that they would be scared to commit such offences.

The state government decided to bring an ordinance to amend the Bihar Orissa Excise Act 1915 in the wake of series of liquor tragedies that took place in March and April last in Ganjam district claiming lives of over 40 people.

State Excise Minister Kalandi Behera had to tender his resignation from the post owning moral responsibility for the death of such a large number of people consuming spurious liquor in Ganjam district.

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