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.
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 worth Rs 8 crores was allegedly in fields between the villages of Samoda, Jhenjhari, and Sirsa in Durg district.
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.
An inspection this morning revealed opium plants interspersed with maize crops, apparently grown to conceal the illegal plantation spread over 5.62 acres in the middle of a 7-acre plot, police said.
Officials added the land is owned by Madhumati Tamrakar and Pritibala Tamrakar, while the agricultural work is managed by Vinayak Tamrakar. Durg Additional Tehsildar Kshama Yadav stated that an investigation is underway to ascertain how the opium crop was cultivated on the farm.
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