Patna, Jun 6 (IANS): Former Bihar Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday claimed that the liquor ban implemented in the state has led to increased corruption among the police.

Manjhi, the 78-year-old veteran Dalit leader, said his father and mother also drink "lal pani" (liquor) but he never consumed liquor in his life.

He added that instead of banning liquor in the state, awareness must be spread among the people about not consuming liquor.

"In a state like Bihar, awareness among people is more important than prohibition. The state government has banned liquor in Bihar. In the garb of liquor ban, the police personnel wrongly implicate poor people and earn crores of rupees. It has turned into a money making tool for police personnel in Bihar and encouraged corruption in the department," the HAM chief added.

"My father and mother also consumed liquor. In the past, liquor was not banned in Bihar. I never touched liquor in my entire life. My point is to create awareness among people of Bihar to avoid liquor rather than impose a ban on it. Liquor is available everywhere in Bihar thanks to its ill-implementation," he said.

"We often see mass deaths due to hooch tragedy in Bihar. It is happening only due to the bad implementation of the liquor ban. I will meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar again and talk to him on this matter," he added.