Days after let off in smuggling case, accused cop arrested

Cough syrup row

- SHIKHA SALARIA NEW DELHI

Days after allegations were levelled against the UP STF for allegedly letting off a dismissed cop who is accused of being involved in the illegal sale of codeine-based cough syrup Phensydyl under pressure, the accused Alok Pratap Singh whose connections with former MP Dhananjay Singh had emerged earlier, was arrested by the agency on Tuesday.

‘The arrest comes even as Singh was preparing to surrender.

The Daily Guardian had reported the serious allegations levelled by retired IPS officer Amitabh Thakur who had written letters to the UP DGP and the Prime Minister alleging that the UP STF had let off Singh under pressure from a senior STF officer and that the accused had connections with former Jaunpur MP Dhananjay Singh.

Significantly, the STF has said that Singh told the agency's officers during interrogation that along with the key accused Shubham Jaiswal, Jaiswal's family, his partners Vikas Singh and Vishal Mehrotra have also fled to Dubai after the arrest of the co-accused Vibhor Rana and Saurabh Tyagi.

According to the STF, Singh told the agency's officers during interrogation that he came in contact with Shubham Jaiswal - the key accused behind the tainted firm Shaili Traders involved in illegal smuggling of Phensydyl-through Vikas Singh, a native of Azamgarh.