PATNA (TIP): From April 1, anyone found consuming liquor at public place in Bihar will be put behind bars, with the jail term varying from 5 to 10 years.

The excise rules have been overhauled after a gap of 101 years and the new law comes into force with effect from Friday onwards wherein stringent penal provisions have been inserted for those violating prohibition norms.

The Bihar Excise (Amendment) Bill 2016, which was unanimously passed by the Bihar Assembly, has provisions for death sentence to those illicit liquor manufacturers whose brew will cause deaths.

There is a provision for life sentence to those liquor makers whose brew causes permanent disability, while those involved in illegal liquor trade will face 10 years of imprisonment.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, during 2015 Assembly poll campaign, had promised to ban liquor if voted to power. Soon after donning the mantle again, he fulfilled one of his main resolves.