Personal dispute cases soar after liquor sales ban is lifted

50,876 complaints related to disputes between two individuals or groups received at UP-112 call centre from across UP between May 4 and 11

LUCKNOW : If data available with the state police emergency centre (UP-112) is anything to go by, complaint calls regarding personal disputes have risen 71.07%, since liquor sale was allowed after 42 days of a complete ban.

A senior UP-112 official said that as many as 50,876 complaint calls relating to personal disputes between two individuals or groups were received at its integrated call centre in Lucknow from all across the state between May 4 and May 11.

“During that period, on an average, we received 6,359 calls daily, which re ed to personal disputes. Authorities had to rush local police to intervene and avert a clash,” he said, adding, “Over 50% of those calls were about disputes that arose after people got drunk”. The official said that data from the 42 days of lockdown, during which liquor sale was banned between March 23 and May 3, shows that around 1,56,129 calls of personal disputes were received at the call centre – 3717 calls daily.

“The data from the two periods is being analysed to know the cause behind the spurt in personal dispute complaints but it is true that the percentage increased since May 4, after liquor sale was allowed,” said a senior official at the DGP headquarters.

The data comparison revealed that daily around 2,642 more calls of personal disputes were received after liquor sales began. The calculation suggested that the daily ratio of calls related to personal disputes has increased up to 71.07 percent.

The comparative data study also showed that the first eight days of liquor sale (after the 42-day ban) witnessed more personal disputes complaints as compared to the days before the lockdown.

The data shows that around 1,06,948 calls regarding personal disputes were received at the call centre between March 1 and 22, an average of 4,861 calls daily. The calculation revealed that personal dispute complaints – before the ban on liquor sales and after it was lifted –increased by around 30.81%.

Lucknow-based psychologist Manini Srivastava called alcohol consumption a slippery slope because it causes adaptations in the brain that create greater deficit in emotional regulation.

“Every time you’re not sober, you have less of an ability to manage your anxiety and are less resilient in your ability to handle stress. It undermines immunity and escalates mental health problems, violence and impulsive risk-taking behaviour. Subsequently, it leads to disputes between individuals or groups and many times it turns into clashes, injuries as well as heinous crime like attempt to murder and murder,” she added.