Former BJP legal cell chief, assistant arrested in Bathinda with ICE drug, heroin

The Bathinda police today claimed to have arrested an advocate and his assistant for allegedly carrying 13.53 gm of ICE drug (methamphetamine) and 14.03 gm of heroin in a car from Bhai Ghanaiya Chowk here.

The accused have been identified as Advocate Rohit Bhardwaj, former president of the BJP’s Bathinda district legal cell and a resident of Goniana Road, and his assistant Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Balahar Vinju village here.

Bathinda SP (City) Narinder Singh said both were caught carrying narcotics in commercial quantities. “Gurpreet already has a case registered against him under the NDPS Act,” said the SP.

Police suspect that the duo may be linked to a larger drug trafficking network and are conducting detailed interrogations. A case has been registered at the Thermal police station in this regard.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal condemned the BJP, terming it the ‘ED party’ in a post on X, and lauded Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for his crackdown on drugs.

Responding to the development, Varinder Sharma, BJP’s Bathinda district vice-president, said, “Rohit Bhardwaj served as president of the party’s legal cell a few years ago. He has not been active in party activities for the past two to three years.”

In another incident, the Rampura Sadar police on Sunday night arrested two persons Balraj Sharma of Phul village and Raj Kumar of Rampura Mandi for allegedly carrying 4.1 kg of opium in a car on the Bathinda-Barnala Road.

The police claimed that both had criminal records and had been involved in drug peddling in the past. A fresh case under various Sections of the NDPS Act has been registered.