Ranchi:In an outrageous twist straight out of a comedy, liquor traders in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, have blamed rats for consuming around 800 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) that mysteriously went missing from their inventory.
The strange claim emerged during a routine liquor stock audit being conducted by the state administration ahead of the rollout of Jharkhand’s new liquor policy, set to take effect on September 1. As officials inspected liquor outlets in the Baliapur and Pradhan Khunta areas of Dhanbad, they discovered that a total of 802 bottles were either empty or partially filled.
When questioned, the shop owners gave an almost laughable response: rats had gnawed through the bottle caps and drank the contents. But the authorities weren’t buying it.
“Nonsense,” said Assistant Excise Commissioner Ramlila Ravani, dismissing the explanation. He confirmed that notices will be issued to the traders to recover the cost of the missing stock.
This isn’t the first time Dhanbad’s rats have been used as scapegoats. In earlier incidents, they were blamed for devouring 10 kilograms of bhang (cannabis) and 9 kilograms of marijuana seized by police. Those claims even reached court, where officials were reprimanded for offering such far-fetched excuses.
The timing of this bizarre defense is noteworthy. The new liquor policy will transfer liquor shop management from state control to private licensees selected via an online lottery to increase transparency and ease administrative oversight.
But as officials gear up for the transition, the blame game continues—this time, with rats caught in the middle of a liquor scandal they likely had nothing to do with.