Patna: The luggage looked ordinary. So did the passenger. A young woman in a First AC coach, a student returning by train, and a woman travelling with a man and child — none appeared to fit the conventional image of a liquor courier. Recent cases in Bihar suggest the disguise itself can be the strategy.As checks tighten on vehicles, railway routes and known smuggling corridors, investigators have found women allegedly being used to move liquor into the dry state — as students, relatives, wives, aunts or ordinary family travellers. The common thread: looking like someone police would not immediately suspect.First AC, 75 litresWhen the Swatantrata Senani Express reached Samastipur Junction, railway personnel found the First AC H-1 coupe locked from inside. Inside were 25-year-old Neha Jha and her relative Ishan Kumar. A luggage check led to around 75 litres of foreign liquor.Student with a backpackDays later, police arrested a BA student from Danapur and her male companion after they arrived from Varanasi on the Indore Express carrying 15.3 litres of branded foreign liquor. Kotwali police said they had information about the consignment and intercepted the pair outside Patna Junction. According to the police account, she was allegedly paid Rs 2,000 to bring it from Varanasi to Patna.‘Family’ that wasn’t quite a familyIn July, an excise team intercepted a luxury car in Kotwa after receiving information about liquor being transported from Uttar Pradesh. Inside were a woman, a man and a child, an arrangement police said was meant to look like an ordinary family.A search allegedly exposed around 60 litres of foreign liquor in a specially created compartment beneath the seats. Police alleged the man was not the woman’s husband but had been brought in to play that role, while the child allegedly strengthened the appearance of a family. The man was allegedly paid Rs 2,000, the woman Rs 1,500 and the child Rs 500.‘Chachi’ with a liquor-laden carOn Aug 27, an excise team seized 68 litres of foreign liquor from a Delhi-registered car in West Champaran and arrested two men and a woman. The driver introduced the woman as his “chachi” and said he was taking her to Bettiah. A scanner examination allegedly detected a concealed compartment containing liquor bottles.Nine women, one manOn Sept 20, the pattern surfaced at Bhabua Road railway station in Kaimur. The GRP and RPF team arrested nine women and one man from platform number 3 and recovered 46.640 litres of liquor. The accused were from Vaishali and Rohtas: Rajmuni Devi, Indramani Devi, Vindhyachali Kumari, Suman Devi, Domni Devi, Sanju Devi, Shimla Devi, Nibha Devi and Kavita Devi, besides Satyendra Pandey of Vaishali.Why women?Between Jan and Aug, Rail Patna recorded 64 women apprehended in liquor-smuggling cases, followed by Rail Muzaffarpur with 49, Rail Katihar with 11 and Rail Jamalpur with seven. Together, the four units apprehended 131 women accused.The cases show another layer of concealment: hiding the intention behind the journey. The alleged camouflage is about looking so ordinary that nobody has a reason to look twice, with women allegedly used to carry liquor under the cover of everyday life.The challengeIdentifying a liquor courier is not as simple as looking for a particular face, age or dress, said additional director general of police (railways) Kamal Kishore Singh.“It is very difficult to identify someone just by looking at them. Nothing is written on anyone’s forehead,” Singh said. He said people could object if questioned or searched without suspicion, and police could face allegations of demanding money.As many as 1,372 trains cross Bihar every day. Unlike airports, railway stations largely remain open areas without controlled entry and exit points, making blanket checks impractical. The RPF has sniffer dogs, while the GRP does not have its own units and seeks RPF assistance when available. Baggage scanners have also been installed at several stations, with screening increased particularly on premium trains.The ADG said 100% checking of every train was not practically possible.
