A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was Saturday arrested with his two aides for allegedly growing opium on a 5-acre farm in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district. The leader has now been suspended from the party.
This came to light after former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel visited the farm and posted photos and videos of the plantation on social media.
The Durg Police arrested the BJP leader Vinayak Tamrakar, 58, who was working as state coordinator for rice mill processing work in the BJP’s farmers’ wing. The opium plantation was allegedly in fields between the villages of Samoda, Jhenjhari, and Sirsa in Durg district.
Though Baghel alleged the farm land belonged to Tamrakar, the police have not confirmed this, or disclosed who owns the land.
According to the police, the seized opium is valued at Rs 8 crore. Superintendent of Police for Durg District Vijay Agrawal said: “During the site inspection, it was discovered that opium plants were being grown clandestinely between maize crops. Preliminary investigations have indicated the involvement of several individuals. Interrogations revealed that labourers were brought in from outside the region for the cultivation process”.
It was a joint action taken by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Forensic Science Lab (FSL), Excise, and Revenue Departments, he added.
Apart from Tamrakar, one Vikas Bishnoi, 27, a resident of Matoda village under the jurisdiction of Matoda police station in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and one Manish Thakur, 45, have been arrested. “They were sent to judicial custody but we will be seeking their police custody for further probe,” added Agrawal.
In his post on X, Baghel said: “The Opium of Good Governance!! – BJP Kisan Morcha leader Vinayak Tamrakar is cultivating opium on 10 acres of farmland. As soon as we got the information last night, we all reached there today. A large number of villagers have gathered. Vinayak Tamrakar is said to be a very influential man. He is known to associate with high-ranking officials and ministers. There are reports of him frequenting the Chief Minister’s residence as well. The question is, is this project of the BJP Kisan Morcha or of the ministers?”
While the BJP suspended Tamrakar and made his suspension letter public, the party did not issue any further statement on the issue.
Calls and texts to Chhattisgarh state president Kiran Singh Deo went unanswered. However, responding to the allegations, a BJP leader from the media cell who doesn’t want to be named said the party will “soon issue a statement.
“We’ve already taken action against him by suspending him. Unlike the Congress party, we don’t side with corrupt party workers,” this leader said.
