Varanasi (UP), Apr 1 (PTI) A local court here has declared the alleged kingpin of the cough syrup trafficking racket, Shubham Jaiswal, a proclaimed offender after he failed to appear within the stipulated time despite a court notice, police said on Wednesday.
Rohania Station House Officer Raju Singh said that the Fast Track Court had issued a notice on February 27, directing Jaiswal to appear within 30 days.
“As he did not comply within the deadline, a case was registered late Tuesday night on the complaint of investigating officer Dinesh Tripathi, and he has now been declared an absconder,” Singh said.
Jaiswal is an accused in a case related to the destruction of codeine-based cough syrup worth around Rs 2 crore in Bhadhwar area of Varanasi on November 19 last year.
The Rohania police had registered the case against him, his father Bhola Jaiswal, Azad Jaiswal, and Saurabh Tyagi of Ghaziabad, among others. However, Jaiswal remains at large.
The development comes amid a broader crackdown on the illegal trade of codeine-based cough syrups in the state.
In a related case, properties worth about Rs 5.5 crore were attached and a bank account containing Rs 37 lakh frozen in Kanpur as part of a financial probe into narcotics trafficking.
The police had taken action against another accused, Vinod Agrawal, currently lodged in jail under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, after it was found that he had acquired assets through proceeds of illegal syrup trade.
Officials said authorities are increasingly targeting the financial networks of such operations, with investigations tracing money trails, assets and associates to dismantle organised drug trafficking racket.
Further investigation in the Varanasi case is underway, the police added. PTI COR CDN RT RT
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