A series of arrests in the international racket of sale of codeine-based cough syrups that passes via India’s Jharkhand, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh to Bangladesh have led to questions being raised on the role of the UP ATS and alleged proximity of a former MP from Jaunpur with some of the accused men.
Moreover, pictures of the gang’s key accused Shubham Jaiswal (who fled to Dubai soon after the police crackdown) with several politicians of the BJP and the Hindu Yuva Vahini have went viral on social media.
The UP STF had arrested Amit Singh Tata, a lawyer and an emerging politician from Jaunpur’s Rampur block in connection with the multi-crore international codeine-based cough syrup sale racket on November 27 and said that Tata’s two firms were involved in the illegal storage and trade of Phensydyl cough syrup and codeine-based cough syrups (CBCS) which was allegedly being smuggled to West Bengal and Bangladesh.
In a statement issued after Tata’s arrest, the STF shared the details of revelations made by Tata during his interrogation by the STF officers after his arrest and said that Tata revealed that he had come in contact with Shubham Jaiswal, a resident of Varanasi’s Kayastha Tola in Prahlad Ghat area who has been identified as the key accused in the racket.
Tata also informed the STF that Jaiswal had a huge business of sale of Phensydyl cough syrup across Jharkhand’s Ranchi by the name of ‘Shelly Traders’ and that the syrup is used as an intoxicant.
According to sources in the Central Bureau of Narcotics, supply of codeine-based cough syrups from Saharanpur, Agra and Mathura in west UP and Chandauli, Varanasi and Gorakhpur in east UP to Bihar, West Bengal, the north-east and Bangladesh via illegal methods has been a major headache for central and state investigative agencies and huge cache of bottles of codeine-based cough syrup (CBCS) being transported for its alleged use for intoxication have been recovered over the past few years.
“The modus operandi is to use fake bills, fake prescription and fake companies to transport large quantities of CBCS from one place to another. The racket is run due to the involvement of officials of big pharmaceutical companies and the owners of fake companies who divert the consignments of CBCS to areas where such syrups are used for intoxication. This is most common in places where liquor sale is banned in India and Bangladesh,” a senior official with the Central Bureau of Narcotics told TDG.
The Jharkhand-Varanasi racket
After the arrest of Tata by a team of UP ATS, the agency while sharing significant details of the interrogation with the accused said that codeine-based Phensydyl is used as an intoxicant which has a major demand in West Bengal and Bangladesh.
Quoting details of what Tata informed the STF officers, the agency said in a statement that Tata was allegedly told by Shubham Jaiswal that if he invests into the smuggling of Phensydyl, he would make huge profits and that he along with another person spoke to “Jaiswal and his partners” through Azamgarh native Vikas Singh after which the latter helped Tata form a firm by the name of ‘Devkripa Medical Agency’ in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad.
While the UP STF has not identified the other person in its statement, retired IPS officer Amitabh Thakur has alleged that this other person is a dismissed policeman Alok Pratap Singh.
“All the transactions of the firm were done by Shubham Jaiswal and his partner along with their CA. I invested Rs five lakh in the Dhanbad firm. They gave me Rs. 20-22 lakh. I have visited Dhanbad only two-three times. After this, at my behest, they made a drug license firm ‘Shri Medical’ in my name in Varanasi too. For this firm too, Jaiswal and others would look after the transactions,” the STF quoted Tata as saying adding that the accused told the STF officers that Jaiswal was given about Rs 8 lakh as profit earned from the Varanasi firm.
“Shubham Jaiswal and his partners had purchased cough syrup worth over Rs.100 crore with collusion of officials of Abott company of which, most of consignment was sold through smuggling using fake sale-purchase bills and fake e-way bills,” the STF statement said.
Key accused, aides fled to Dubai after arrests began
The STF further said that after the arrest of gang members Vibhor Rana and Saurabh Tyagi, Jaiswal and his family members along with the latter’s partner Varun Singh fled to Dubai adding that an FIR has been lodged against the accused under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable documents), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using a forged document or electronic record as genuine),34 (common intention), 120-b (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence).
Azad Adhikar Sena questions STF over accused’s alleged links with Dhananjay Singh
Raising questions on the main accused escaping to Dubai, Azad Adhikar Sena chief and retired IPS officer Amitabh Thakur has raised several questions on the role of the UP STF officers and has flagged the alleged links of the accused Tata and Alok Pratap Singh with former Jaunpur MP Dhananjay Singh.
Sharing a purported copy of the arrest details of the accused Tata, Thakur said that according to the document, a dismissed constable Alok Pratap Singh was also present with Tata at the time of his arrest.
In a letter to the UP DGP, Thakur has alleged that Tata was arrested by the STF when he was returning from Ujjain after visiting the Mahakaleshwar temple and the dismissed cop was also present with him in a bullet-proof car.
Thakur has alleged that Singh was let off by “a senior STF officer due to the pressure of another officer” and that cash, illegal arms and the bullet-proof vehicle in which they were allegedly travelling were not shown in the list of items recovered and another vehicle was shown to have been recovered from the accused Tata. The STF had said that Tata was arrested from Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar at 7 am on November 27.
On Monday, Thakur shared a purported voter’s list of Malhani constituency’s Bansfa village of Jaunpur which showed that the residential address of Dhananjay Singh, his wife Srikala Reddy and Alok Pratap Singh is same as “house number 17.”
Further, pictures of Tata with Dhananjay Singh have gone viral on social media as Tata had shared multiple pictures and videos on his Facebook account in which he can be seen with the former MP who has an elaborate criminal background.
Between 1991 and 2023, as many as 46 cases were lodged against Singh
across Delhi, Jaunpur and Lucknow for murder, attempt to murder, extortion, causing hurt, rioting, criminal intimidation, etc. Singh was acquitted in over 20 of these cases while a final report — precursor to a closure report — was filed by the police in one of them, according to UP police records.
Three other cases lodged against him under the gangster act in 2002-2003 were withdrawn by the Mayawati government, the records show.
After his pictures with Tata went viral with social media, Dhananjay Singh posted on Facebook that different agencies of the state government are probing the matter which will bring the reality of the matter before everyone.
“Since this matter is an inter-state matter, I will request the PM and the (UP) CM to get this investigated by the CBI which will help ensure strict action against the guilty and baseless allegations and fake news can be stopped,” he wrote.
Key accused’s video with former minister, HYV leader goes viral, minister says bad elements participated in tiranga yatra
A video of the key accused Shubham Jaiswal with former UP minister Neelkanth Tiwari and Hindu Yuva Vahini leader Ambrish Singh Bhola has gone viral on X.
The video pertains to a Tiranga Yatra which was organised by Jaiswal in Varanasi on August 15 this year where Tiwari had purportedly participated as a chief guest. Bhola too is visible with Jaiswal in the video.
According to several posts shared by Bhola on his Facebook page, he is a “named member” of the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) and the former incharge of the Varanasi mandal of the Hindu Yuva Vahini (a now-disbanded outfit headed by UP CM Yogi Adityanath in the past).
Bhola has also uploaded several pictures of himself with BJP MP Sadhna Singh, Karni Sena leaders from Varanasi, BJP leaders from Varanasi. Snapshots of all these pictures are in possession with TDG.
Speaking to TDG, Thakur said that the relationship of the accused Jaiswal with Bhola and others should be inquired into by the UP police.
“It is emerging that these individuals are in close proximity and their relationship needs to be probed by the UP police,” he said.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Thakur has demanded an inquiry into the case by the CBI or Enforcement Directorate given that the issue is related to Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand states too which makes it a completely inter-state issue.
“Questions are being raised on the UP STF which is probing the issue and there are serious allegations on the agency working under pressure too. The STF itself has said that several accused have fled to Dubai and there is suspicion on an influential former MP Dhananjay Singh too who has termed himself as innocent and publicly demanded a CBI inquiry in the matter,” he has written in his letter to the PM on November 30.
He further wrote that there were allegations against Ambrish Singh Bhola who is considered very close to UP CM Adityanath and former minister Neelkanth Tiwari who has been seen with Shubham Jaiswal.
“Bhola had met the UP CM Yogi Adityanath on November 29 which is also being viewed in the backdrop of the incident,” Thakur wrote in his letter to the PM.
A picture of Ambrish Singh Bhola from his meeting with Adityanath on November 29 was shared by Bhola on his Facebook page.
Thakur said that the proximity between Ambrish Singh Bhola and Jaiswal should be probed as the same raises suspicion.
TDG made calls and sent messages to Bhola seeking a version but his response could not be received till the filing of the story.
Speaking to TDG, ex-UP minister Tiwari said that several tiranga yatras were taken out on August 15 and as a public representative, he had participated in several of them.
“On August 15, several tiranga yatras were conducted in my constituency and across Varanasi. I had participated in several of them and in one of the yatras, Jaiswal too was present. I participated in several yatras organised by traders and other community leaders. Several bad elements too enter yatras but as a public representative, naturally, I have to participate in such events. I know that action is being taken against him and other accomplices and strictest action should be taken against them. They are mischievous elements who have shops in our area,” he said.
Speaking to TDG, a senior UP STF officer denied the allegations levelled by Thakur and said that all the accused who are absconding continue to be on STF’s radar and will be arrested soon.
On Sunday, the UP STF arrested Shubham Jaiswal’s father Bhola Jaiswal from the Kolkata airport. Bhola Jaiswal was about to escape abroad, according to the STF sources and the firm ‘Shelly Traders’ is registered in his name.
When asked about his pictures and videos with Amit Tata, Dhananjay Singh told TDG that the Alok Pratap Singh is known to him since class VI and has been known to him since childhood.
“Clicking photographs with someone one knows doesn’t mean any involvement. I know Amit Tata since he is a lawyer and I met him in that capacity for the first time,” he said.
When asked about the allegation that the 9777 series cars which are being used by Amit Tata has been visible in his cavalcade too, he claimed that there are more than one cars issued by the transport department with this series number from each district and it doesn’t mean that the cars are linked with him.
TDG made several calls to Ambrish Singh Bhola and sent messages to him seeking a version but he is yet to respond.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
