Latest news with #Bhola
New Indian Express
a day ago
- New Indian Express
Former DSP Bhola, convicted in Rs 700 crore drug racket case, out on bail after 12 years
CHANDIGARH: Former Deputy Superintendent of Punjab Police and Arjuna Award-winning wrestler Jagdish Bhola, an alleged kingpin of a synthetic narcotics racket worth Rs 700 crore, walked out of Bathinda Central Jail on June 1 after nearly 12 years of incarceration. He was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on May 21. Hailing from Raike Kalan village in Bathinda, Bhola had been convicted in one of the largest drug trafficking cases in the history of the State, which involved a Rs 700 crore synthetic narcotics racket. He has been convicted in two cases, while a few more criminal cases were pending against him. In 2019, a special CBI court sentenced Bhola to 24 years in prison. Last year, he received an additional 10-year sentence following a conviction for money laundering. Confirming that Bhola has been released, Bathinda Central Jail Superintendent Manjit Singh Sidhu said that it took place in the evening of Sunday after all formalities were completed.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Jagdish Bhola, convict in Rs 700 crore drug racket, walks out of prison after 12 years
Punjab and Haryana high court had on May 21 granted bail to former Punjab Police DSP Jagdish Bhola. He was asked to furnish a bail bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties BATHINDA: Twelve years after he was arrested in a multi-crore drug racket, Arjuna Award-winning wrestler and former Punjab Police DSP Jagdish Bhola finally walked out of jail on Sunday. A bench of the Punjab and Haryana high court had granted him bail on May 21, with various conditions, including a bail bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties. Bhola had won a silver medal in the Asian Wrestling Championship in 1991 and appeared in the Punjabi movie Rustam-e-Hind in 2008. A deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Bhola was dismissed from Punjab Police in 2012. He was arrested in Nov 2013 in connection with a Rs 700-crore drug racket. Bhola was in jail for nearly 12 years. He has been convicted twice — in 2019 and 2024. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) named him an accused in the multi-crore synthetic narcotics racket after an investigation into money laundering was initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2013. In Feb 2019, Bhola was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in jail by a special CBI court in Mohali in the Rs 700-crore drug racket busted Punjab Police in 2013. Punjab Police had seized heroin, methamphetamine, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, opium, intoxicating powder, and Rs 1.91 crore, besides some foreign currency and arms from him. In the second conviction, Bhola was sentenced to 10 years in jail in a drug-linked money laundering case of Mohali in July 2024. Earlier, the disgraced cop and wrestler was allowed to visit his native village, Raike Kalan in Bathinda district, for five hours to perform the last rites of his father, Balshinder Singh, on Jul 26, 2024. Before this, he had come out to perform the last rites of his mother for a brief period in Jun 2023.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Drug racket kingpin Bhola out of jail after 11 years
Sacked Punjab Police deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Jagdish Bhola, a kingpin of a drug racket busted in 2013, was released from the high-security Bathinda central prison on Sunday. Jail superintendent Manjit Singh Sidhu said Bhola was released at around 4 pm after completing the formalities. The Punjab and Haryana high court had granted him bail on May 21. An accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Bhola got bail after spending 11 years in jail. Among other points, the court reportedly took into consideration his prolonged incarceration and the remote possibility of an early disposal of appeals. Bhola, an alleged kingpin of the ₹6,000-crore drug racket, has been convicted in two cases while some more criminal cases are pending against him. A native of Raike Kalan village in Bathinda, Bhola, once a celebrated wrestler and recipient of the Arjuna Award, was dismissed from the police force in 2012 after the recovery of poppy husk. He was arrested by Punjab Police in November 2013 in connection with the ₹700-crore drug racket. The ED arrested him in 2014 and filed six chargesheets till 2017. Bhola is facing several FIRs in Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali. His last conviction was in July 2024 when a Mohali court convicted and sentenced him to 10-year rigorous imprisonment in a drug-linked money-laundering case. An Enforcement Directorate (ED) case was also an offshoot of a drug case, in which a probe was launched immediately after the racket was busted in 2013. Appeals against all the cases are pending before the high court.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Jagdish Bhola, convict in Rs 700cr drug racket, walks out of prison after 12 years
Bathinda: Twelve years after he was arrested in a multi-crore drug racket, Arjuna Award-winning wrestler and former Punjab Police DSP Jagdish Bhola finally walked out of jail on Sunday. A bench of the Punjab and Haryana high court had granted him bail on May 21, with various conditions, including a bail bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties. Bhola had won a silver medal in the Asian Wrestling Championship in 1991 and appeared in the Punjabi movie Rustam-e-Hind in 2008. A deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Bhola was dismissed from Punjab Police in 2012. He was arrested in Nov 2013 in connection with a Rs 700-crore drug racket. Bhola was in jail for nearly 12 years. He has been convicted twice — in 2019 and 2024. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) named him an accused in the multi-crore synthetic narcotics racket after an investigation into money laundering was initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2013. In Feb 2019, Bhola was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in jail by a special CBI court in Mohali in the Rs 700-crore drug racket busted Punjab Police in 2013. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Punjab Police had seized heroin, methamphetamine, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, opium, intoxicating powder, and Rs 1.91 crore, besides some foreign currency and arms from him. In the second conviction, Bhola was sentenced to 10 years in jail in a drug-linked money laundering case of Mohali in July 2024. Earlier, the disgraced cop and wrestler was allowed to visit his native village, Raike Kalan in Bathinda district, for five hours to perform the last rites of his father, Balshinder Singh, on Jul 26, 2024. Before this, he had come out to perform the last rites of his mother for a brief period in Jun 2023.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Arjuna awardee Jagdish Bhola, convicted in one of Punjab's largest drug rackets, walks out of jail after 12 years
1 2 Bathinda: Twelve years after he was arrested in a multi-crore drug racket, Arjuna Award-winning wrestler and former Punjab Police DSP Jagdish Bhola finally walked out of jail on Sunday. A bench of the Punjab and Haryana high court had granted him bail on May 21, with various conditions, including a bail bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties. Bhola had won a silver medal in the Asian Wrestling Championship in 1991 and appeared in the Punjabi movie Rustam-e-Hind in 2008. A deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Bhola was dismissed from Punjab Police in 2012. He was arrested in Nov 2013 in connection with a Rs 700-crore drug racket. Bhola was in jail for nearly 12 years. He has been convicted twice — in 2019 and 2024. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) named him an accused in the multi-crore synthetic narcotics racket after an investigation into money laundering was initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2013. In Feb 2019, Bhola was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in jail by a special CBI court in Mohali in the Rs 700-crore drug racket busted Punjab Police in 2013. Punjab Police had seized heroin, methamphetamine, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, opium, intoxicating powder, and Rs 1.91 crore, besides some foreign currency and arms from him. In the second conviction, Bhola was sentenced to 10 years in jail in a drug-linked money laundering case of Mohali in July 2024. Earlier, the disgraced cop and wrestler was allowed to visit his native village, Raike Kalan in Bathinda district, for five hours to perform the last rites of his father, Balshinder Singh, on Jul 26, 2024. Before this, he had come out to perform the last rites of his mother for a brief period in Jun 2023. MSID:: 121550671 413 |
