Embarrassed by the arrests, the BJP acted swiftly to expel Daddi for six years, Embarrassed by the arrests, the BJP acted swiftly to expel Daddi for six years,

BJP leader Vijay Kumar Kamboj alias Daddi and SAD leader Mahal Singh Rana, arrested by Rajasthan police along with three of their supporters earlier this week with 7.5 kg of poppy husk, were transporting the narcotic into Punjab — most likely for their own consumption.

This is the preliminary finding of the Rajasthan police who arrested the five at Pallu village in Hanumangarh district from a car with a blue beacon.

The arrests have come at a time when the SAD is fending off criticism for doing little to curb the drug menace in the state, and has been at the receiving end of barbs on the issue from its alliance partner BJP, which has thrown itself proactively into an anti-drugs campaign.

Embarrassed by the arrests, the BJP acted swiftly to expel Daddi for six years,

The SAD district unit, on the other hand, quickly distanced itself from Rana, saying it had no idea who he was.

In February this year though, Rana, Block President of SAD (rural) from Fazilka, was an active campaigner in the municipal council and nagar panchayat elections in the district and was a staple presence at all party functions.

District president Gurpal Singh Grewal describes him as an “outsider” now.

“Till the time someone is not caught in a case, we never come to know if he was using our party name. It is only after his arrest we got to know that he was calling himself as SAD rural’s block president. We don’t recall anybody by the name of Rana,” Grewal said.

Asked why SAD had allowed an “outsider” to campaign for the party, Grewal said Rana must have campaigned on his own “as a well-wisher of the party”.

Meanwhile, BJP’s Fazilka unit’s president Sita Ram confirmed expulsion of Vijay Kumar Kamboj from party. The latter is a block samiti member from Asafwala.

Meanwhile, Sunil Charan, SHO of Pallu Tehsil in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan, said, “When we arrested all of them, we found them to be habitual addicts and even they themselves confirmed the same. As five packets of poppy husk weighing 1.5 kg each were seized, the addicts revealed that each one was for self-consumption.”

The SHO added: “NDPS cases on Punjab residents is common in Rajasthan, as they come to the border areas to get the dose or also with the intention to smuggle it. I have a big pile of ongoing cases from Punjab alone.

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