News Brief
Nishtha Anushree
Oct 03, 2024, 02:26 PM | Updated 02:29 PM IST
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According to police sources quoted by India Today, the alleged kingpin arrested in Delhi’s biggest drug bust has been associated with the Congress party.
The 40-plus-year-old Vasant Vihar resident Tushar Goyal, who was arrested yesterday (3 October) with over 560 kilograms (kgs) of cocaine linked to him, held a position in Congress until 2022.
During the questioning by the Delhi Police, he admitted having served as the chairman of the Right to Information (RTI) cell for the Delhi Pradesh Congress till 2022.
Even in his social media profile, he has added the title of 'RTI Cell Chairman, Delhi Pradesh Congress.' He has photos with Haryana Congress leaders like Deepender Singh Hooda and Udai Bhan on his handle.
Deepender is the son of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and is currently a member of Parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha from Rohtak, while Udai Bhan is the Haryana Congress president.
Goyal also has pictures with Haryana BJP leader Anil Jain, and former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, before the latter resigned from the party on his Facebook profile.
He was arrested with three others, his associate with a strong-built Himanshu, his driver Aurangzeb and Bharat Jain, who came from Mumbai to receive the drug consignment.
According to the police, the Rs 2,000 crore cocaine was transported into Delhi via road from different states, including Uttar Pradesh while the marijuana reportedly came from Phuket, Thailand via air.
Sources close to the investigation suggest that a prominent businessman based in Dubai may be linked to the cocaine shipment, which investigators suspect was intended for high-profile events in the capital.
"The leader of the drug cartel has been operating his network in India from a country in West Asia," a senior Delhi Police officer said, noting that efforts are underway to apprehend all those involved in the drug syndicate.
The case has been filed under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and investigations continue to uncover the broader network behind this significant drug seizure.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.