File image of Bihar Police. News18.

Sitamarhi: A sub-inspector of police was among two persons killed in Sitamarhi Wednesday in an exchange of fire that broke out when a police party cracked down on a team of liquor smugglers.

The shootout took place in a village falling under Majorganj police station of this north Bihar district where a team led by sub-inspector Dinesh Ram had conducted a raid upon getting information that some people were involved in the illegal liquor trade, according to Anil Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Sitamarhi.

“Ram, along with one of the liquor smugglers identified as Ranjan Singh, was killed while a chowkidar Lalbabu Paswan sustained bullet injuries and has been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition,” he said.

A heavy deployment of police was made in the village and efforts were on to identify and nab others who could be involved in the liquor trade, said the SP.

Sale and consumption of liquor was completely banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government five years ago.

Leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav took potshots at the government over the incident and, in a tweet, wondered how liquor mafia in the dry state had got “emboldened to the extent that they were bumping off police personnel”.