BJP's youth leader Pamela Goswami held with drugs

Kolkata: On a day when senior BJP leader and Union Home minister Amit Shah emphasized that youth can help build a prosperous country while attending events in the city, the party's Yuva Morcha state Secretary Pamela Goswami was arrested from New Alipore area on Friday for allegedly possessing cocaine.

The development has come at a time when the saffron party is desperately trying to emerge as the single-largest party in Bengal in the forthcoming Assembly elections and raising slogans of 'Parivartan' to restore the state's rich culture.

It has been alleged that Goswami—who is allegedly close to state-level BJP leaders—used to supply drugs to a few people living in one of the posh localities of the city. Police have also arrested her associates Prabir Kumar Dey and Somnath Chatterjee from the spot. The entire sequence of search and seizure, along with the procedure of arrest, was video recorded by the police.

In the pictures uploaded on her social media accounts, Goswami was seen with several top BJP leaders of the state. Sources claimed that after joining the saffron party, Goswami was given central security as well. Controversy cropped up as to how she continued the illegal trade in presence of the security personnel provided by the Centre.

According to sources, the police had been tipped off about Goswami's activities for the past few months. Sources alleged that Goswami was often spotted at a particular spot at N R Avenue in New Alipore area. As she waited at the spot, a few people would come and take drugs from her.

Acting on the tip-off, cops from New Alipore police station maintained a strict vigil for the past few weeks.

They spotted the car and Goswami. On Friday, a plan was hatched to intercept the car. Since morning, police personnel wearing plain clothes were deployed in the area. Also, 8 police vans were parked at strategic points to check attempts of escape.

As soon as Goswami's car was stopped, police vans surrounded it. When cops searched Goswami's handbag, they allegedly found a few grams of cocaine. Later, police searched the car and recovered cocaine from under the seats

too.

Sources informed that about 90 grams of cocaine, worth Rs 10 lakh, was seized from them. Police said she also runs a beauty parlour at a shopping mall in New Town. A probe is on to ascertain whether the parlour was used for facilitating the

illegal trade.

Goswami was introduced in BJP by Rakesh Singh during the 2019 polls. She became the state Secretary of the Yuva Morcha in October, 2020. Sources claimed that the state-level BJP leaders could be called for

interrogation.

Condemning the incident senior Trinamool Congress leader and Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said that it is a shameful act and it brings out the real picture of BJP before the people.