The police raided a hotel in Surat’s Salabatpura area and nabbed three accused and seized 910 grams of mephedrone drug worth Rs 35.49 lakh from them
Team Clarion
NEW DLEHI – The individual arrested by Surat Police in Gujarat on Monday in connection with supply of drugs has photos with state ministers and senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The accused, Vikas Ahir, is the Gujarat president of the right-wing Hindu Yuva Vahini and has photos with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav, BJP MP Tejashwi Surya, Gujarat BJP president CR Patil and others.
In post on X, Ahir called Sanghavi his “close friend” and “elder brother” extending him birthday greetings on 8 January 2023. Sanghavi responded to Ahir’s post calling him “brother”.
On Monday, the Surat Police raided a hotel in Salabatpura area of the city and nabbed three accused and seized 910 grams of mephedrone drug worth Rs 35.49 lakh from them, Surat Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot said.
The arrested individuals were identified as Chetan Shahu, a resident of Udaipur in Rajasthan, and two men from Surat – Anishkhan Pathan and Vikas Ahir.
A preliminary probe revealed that Shahu, a drug supplier, came to Surat from Rajasthan to deliver the drugs to Pathan and Ahir, who sell the narcotic substance to drug addicts through their network of paan and ice-cream parlours in the city, Gehlot said.
When asked about Ahir’s political affiliation, Gehlot said Ahir is known to be a history-sheeter and such people try to associate themselves with a political party or influential people to hide their illegal activities.
In a release, Surat Police said Ahir already faces six different FIRs related to kidnapping, rioting and assault.
After Ahir’s arrest, several Congress leaders, including Surat’s Aslam Cyclewala posted several photographs wherein Ahir can be seen with Sanghavi, Patil and Yogi Adityanath.
He further said that Ahir has been working as Gujarat president of Yogi’s Hindu Yuva Vahini since long. In a Facebook post, the Gujarat Congress alleged that Ahir was a member of the BJP and sought to know if he used to give commission to senior BJP leaders sitting in ‘Kamalam’, the BJP’s state headquarters in Gandhinagar.
On social media, Ahir had praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for waging war on the drugs mafia. He is also a big supporter of Hindutva ideology and the current regime.
Responding to the photos with the drug peddler, Sanghavi said: “I’m glad that @GujaratPolice has arrested thousands of drug peddlers so far. If it includes one who have selfies with me & other influencer it makes me even happier because it proves that agencies are doing honest work, without any influence”.
