MP: Railway police officer held for supplying opium to smuggler

The accused was identified as Kanhaiyalal Bhati, the GRP station in-charge at Shamgarh.

Neemuch: A Government Railway Police (GRP) official posted in neighbouring Mandsaur district has been arrested for allegedly supplying 1.5 kg of opium to a smuggler.

The accused was identified as Kanhaiyalal Bhati, the GRP station in-charge at Shamgarh.

Jiran Police Station House Officer Umesh Yadav told PTI on Friday that on July 7, a person named Mangal Singh was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after 4.5 kg of opium was seized from his possession.

He had no valid documents which would have allowed him to transport the substance.

Singh allegedly told police that he dealt in opium regularly and had procured 1.5 kg of the seized contraband from Kanhaiyalal Bhati.

The GRP official was arrested based on Singh’s statement and evidence found during the subsequent investigation, Yadav added.

Bhati was produced before a local court, which remanded him in police custody for two days.

Probe was underway to find out how many more people were involved in this opium smuggling network, the official said.

The 4.50 kg of opium recovered from Singh is estimated to be valued at Rs 22 to 23 lakh in the international market. However, as Neemuch is an opium-producing region, the price is relatively low locally, Yadav said.