A bizarre incident on the Lucknow-Barauni Express has brought the issue of liquor smuggling to the forefront, revealing the creative, and perhaps desperate, measures individuals take to circumvent prohibition laws. Passengers traveling in the AC compartment of the Lucknow-Barauni Express on Tuesday experienced more than just discomfort due to low cooling; their complaint led to the discovery of a hidden stash of liquor bottles within the train's AC duct.

The incident unfolded when Vipin Kumar, a passenger in the second AC coach (A-2), seat number 40, reported inadequate cooling. Upon inspection, a railway technician was shocked to find liquor bottles concealed inside the AC duct, wrapped in paper to avoid detection. The discovery led to a thorough search of the entire coach, revealing more than 150 bottles. Other reports indicate that as many as 316 bottles were discovered. These bottles were identified as Officer's Choice and After Dark Blue whisky, totaling nearly 57 liters of illegal liquor.

The incident occurred near Gonda, and authorities believe the liquor was intended to be smuggled into Bihar, a state with prohibition laws. This is not the first instance of liquor smuggling on the Lucknow-Barauni Express; a previous incident involved approximately 700 tetra packs of alcohol.

Following the discovery, the onboard GRP team from Basti, along with the Railway Protection Force (RPF), seized the entire consignment upon the train's arrival at Basti station. A video captured by passengers shows an officer exclaiming, "Yeh dekhiye khazana!" ("Look at this treasure!").

The authorities arrested Ashish Kumar, a coach attendant from Khagaria district in Bihar, in connection with the smuggling operation. During interrogation, Ashish confessed to regularly smuggling liquor from Uttar Pradesh to Bihar, where he sold it at double the price to support his family. He revealed that he concealed the bottles in the AC duct to avoid detection. Ashish has been booked under the Excise Act and sent to jail. Authorities noted that Ashish's assigned duty was in a different coach, but he had moved to the A2 coach to guard his illegal consignment while the actual coach attendant was on leave.

The incident has sparked concerns about the methods used to smuggle liquor into dry states and the involvement of railway staff in such activities. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of current security measures and the need for increased vigilance to prevent future smuggling attempts.