Despite the government’s loud support for liquor prohibition, liquor flows freely, and now even burqas are being misused by Hindu women to cover up their crime
KATIHAR – Two Hindu women were caught smuggling liquor under burqas at Mania railway station in the Bihar city of Katihar, exposing the ongoing failure of the state’s liquor ban and the disturbing misuse of religious clothing for illegal activities.
Veena Devi and Nandini Kumari, both residents of Pipradhari Tola, were arrested trying to smuggle liquor from West Bengal into Bihar by train. They were wearing burqas over sarees and faking pregnancy in an attempt to hide their crime. According to the police, they had tightly taped tetra packs of foreign liquor to their bodies.
Veena Devi was carrying 9 litres, while Nandini had 8.1 litres of liquor.
The incident has stirred debate in Bihar, where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s government has been boasting about a complete ban on alcohol since April 2016.
“The women wore burqas to avoid suspicion. Their plan was clever, but not clever enough,” Subhash Kumar Singh, Excise Superintendent, told the media. “They were smuggling liquor from Kumedpur in West Bengal and we caught them based on a tip-off.”
Singh added that the arrest was made as part of a special crackdown ordered by the district magistrate, focusing on border areas and routes used by smugglers. “We are keeping close watch on railway and river routes now. These areas are turning into safe corridors for liquor smuggling,” he said.
The use of a burqa in this case has raised serious concerns. In recent years, Muslim women have been targeted for wearing the hijab and burqa, and often accused of backwardness or extremism. But here, Hindu women wore the same clothing to dodge law enforcement.
“This is pure hypocrisy. When Muslim women wear a burqa, we are shouted at and insulted. But when Hindu women wear it to break the law, everyone is quiet,” said Zeba Khan, a women’s rights activist based in Patna. “This shows the double standards that dominate our society. No one will now question the burqa because the ones misusing it are not Muslim.”
Another local, Faizan Ahmed, added, “They used the religious identity of Muslims as a disguise. Imagine the uproar if it had been Muslim women caught with liquor in a burqa. News channels would’ve screamed for days. But this? Silence.”
Though the state government banned liquor nine years ago, citing the harms of alcohol and support from women’s groups, on-ground reports show that liquor is still easily available. Smugglers continue to find new tricks, while the administration often turns a blind eye.
“Everyone knows liquor is available in Bihar. You just need the right contact or pay the right price,” said a small shopkeeper in Katihar who did not wish to be named. “Sometimes it’s the very people who support prohibition laws who drink the most at night.”
Another shopkeeper told us, “Liquor is coming in from Jharkhand, Bengal, even Nepal. People are selling it door-to-door. And police only catch small fish.”
This is not the first time liquor has been smuggled using women or odd disguises. In the past, liquor has been hidden in boxes marked as food, inside medical kits, and even carried by school children without their knowledge. But the use of burqa—an Islamic dress often under attack from Hindutva groups—for smuggling by Hindu women has shocked many.
What’s also telling is the silence from the BJP and right-wing groups, who usually attack Muslims for using religious dress in public spaces. Here, two Hindu women have openly misused Islamic symbols—but no outrage, no hashtags, no TV debates.
“If Muslim women had done this, ABVP and BJP would have gone wild,” said a student from Patna University. “They would have called it ‘jihadi smuggling’ or some crazy theory. But this doesn’t suit their agenda, so they stay quiet.”
Many Muslims see this as part of a broader pattern. “They mock our dress, question our food habits, and try to erase our identity. But here, Hindu women steal our clothing style to commit a crime—and still, we’re the ones who remain under constant suspicion,” said Shakeel Ansari, a resident of Katihar.
The case also highlights how women, regardless of religion, are often used by liquor mafias. Poor women are especially vulnerable, lured by small payments to carry illegal goods, while the real masterminds stay hidden.
“This is a social failure,” said Prof Nagma Fatima, a sociologist. “Why are women taking such risks? Because they have no jobs, no income, and no dignity left in society. If the government really wants to stop smuggling, it should focus on giving women better opportunities, not just banning liquor.”
She added, “Using a burqa to smuggle alcohol is both insulting and dangerous. It puts all burqa-clad women under unnecessary suspicion now.”
The Katihar liquor case has once again exposed the hollow nature of Bihar’s prohibition law and the deep hypocrisy that runs through Hindutva politics. While Muslims are endlessly policed for their appearance and customs, Hindu criminals escape public shame even while stealing those very customs to hide their crimes.
