Cop, 3 others held for running drug racket

LUCKNOW:A Lucknow police head constable along with his three aides was arrested on Monday for allegedly running a drug peddling racket in the state capital, police said.

The police also seized 255 packets of smack and cash ₹1.57 lakh from them.

Circle officer (CO) of Cantt, Santosh Kumar Singh said those arrested were head constable Pawan Kumar and his aides Rakesh Yadav alias Bunty, Sonu and Dilip Kumar.

He said Pawan, who was presently posted at Lucknow’s reserve police lines for the past two years, has been placed under suspension after an FIR under charges of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) was lodged against him.

“A departmental action has also been initiated for termination of Pawan’s services,” said the CO.

The CO said Pawan was running the racket for the past many years and used his personal SUV for transportation of the contraband from Barabanki’s Tikaria.

“He took advantage of his uniform to escape police checking and supplied smack to slum dwellers and rickshaw pullers who worked as his retail agents,” Singh said.

He said Rakesh Yadav, who runs a dairy, worked as his main

collection agent while two others Sonu and Dilip were his retail agents.

Sharing further details, the CO said Pawan, a resident of Ghazipur, joined the state police in 1991 as a constable and later got promoted to the rank of head constable. He remained posted in Lucknow till 2014 during which he formed a nexus and started operating his drug business to earn fast bucks.

However, on the basis of an anonymous compliant he was transferred to Lakhimpur Kheri in 2014 but he soon got transferred to Lucknow again.

“On the basis of manual and electronic intelligence, the city police’s anti-narcotics cell had specific input about Pawan’s movement and his drug deal following which we laid the trap and arrested him and three others along with smack meant for supply in the city,” the CO said.

Singh said Pawan was arrested when he went to Rakesh Yadav’s place near Loco crossing to collect cash and hand over more packets.

The CO said the gang used to sell one packet of smack for ₹100 to drug addicts in Charbagh and adjoining areas.

The SUV used in the crime was also confiscated, he said and added that police were exploring their network and more arrests were likely in the matter.