LUCKNOW: As Bihar prepares for assembly elections, liquor smugglers are stepping up efforts to sneak alcohol into the dry state. In a fresh incident on Thursday, a parcel labelled as pickles bound for Patna was seized, revealing a consignment of illicit liquor, reports Arvind Chauhan. The seizure took place at Varanasi Junction under the Lucknow division of Northern Railway during a routine scan by the Railway Protection Force (RPF). An official source revealed that 16 packages disguised as pickle shipments, containing 32 tins, were scanned, exposing 283 bottles of whisky hidden inside.“One suspect has been detained by the Government Railway Police (GRP) Varanasi, and an investigation is underway,” the source added.This incident isn’t isolated. Last month, authorities discovered 316 whisky bottles concealed inside the duct of an AC-2 tier coach on the Lucknow Junction-Barauni Express (Train No. 15204), headed to Bihar. The coach attendant was arrested by the Basti GRP.In a separate incident the same month, Gorakhpur GRP arrested two individuals in back-to-back operations for smuggling liquor via train into Bihar.