By Avijit Biswas

Bhagalpur: With arrest of three drug peddlers here yesterday with brown sugar worth Rs twenty lakhs, efforts have been stepped by local police to bust the gang involved in drug peddling.

Following information that substantial amount of brown sugar was being brought here by a train coming here from Malda in West Bengal, under supervision of Amit Ranjan, city SP a police team headed by Ajay Kumar Chowdhury, DSP (city) was constituted by order of SSP Anand Kumar to nab the peddlers.

Under a well-executed plan the peddlers all resident of Babarganj police station area here were arrested with drug consignment. Those arrested have been identified as Dayanand Kumar alias Daya, Basudeo Kumar alias Basu and Rohit Kumar alias Rohit Lal.

 Police suspects the arrested peddlers might have links with interstate criminal gang involved in drug peddling. Altogether 800 grams of brown sugar was recovered from possession of the arrested peddlers. In recent years it is one of the major drug recoveries in this part of state. To find out links of the peddlers in neighbouring state, local police team is likely to visit West Bengal soon.

 Giving details of the arrest at a press conference yesterday SSP said efforts are underway to identify people from whom arrested peddlers had procured brown sugar and also people to whom they were scheduled to supply drugs.

Informing about possibility that confiscated consignment would have found way to Babbarganj, Mojahidpur, Nathnagar and Masudanpur areas of city for distribution, Kumar said police is looking for a local purchaser of brown sugar who has been identified.

 He added interrogated by police, the peddlers have provided some details about person from whom they had procured brown sugar. Identified by peddler’s, police is looking for two other people, SSP informed. He confirmed a police team would visit West Bengal soon in search of person who had supplied brown sugar to the arrested peddlers.

 It also being looked into how could peddlers arrange huge amount which was used by them for purchasing brown sugar and also person if any involved in making them available money for purchase of brown sugar, SSP further said.

 He added police team involved in arresting peddlers and recovery of drugs would be rewarded for good job. The members of the team included Devanand Paswan, SHO, Mojahidpur PS, Murlidhar Sah and Mithilesh Kumar, both inspector rank officials besides Pramod Sah, Sikander Kumar, Sushil Raj and Shakti Paswan, ASI rank officials. 

• Writer Avijit Biswas, former principal correspondent of Hindustan Times Bhagalpur bureau, can be contacted at biswasavijit@yahoo.comContact number (mobile): +919431095516