- IPS officer Gaurav Rajput has alleged police involvement in narcotic cough syrup trade in Madhya Pradesh
- Rajput has criticised station heads for shielding drug traffickers amid multiple syrup seizures in Rewa
- Rajput has warned errant officers of consequences and urged them to cleanse the system
In an explosive revelation that has sent shockwaves through Madhya Pradesh's law enforcement system, a senior IPS officer has openly alleged that policemen themselves are knee-deep in the illegal trade of narcotic cough syrups. Gaurav Rajput, the Inspector General of Rewa Range, speaking at the launch of "Operation Prahar 2" against narcotics on Monday, made a statement that has put a question mark on the credibility of the state police.
"I have a list of those policemen who are like fish polluting the pond... If this list is made public, their families will be embarrassed," the IG declared before hundreds of officers.
The statement wasn't just a reprimand. It was an indictment. For the first time, a top police officer has publicly confirmed what has long been whispered across Madhya Pradesh's towns and tehsils -- that the drug network thrives not despite the police, but because of them.
Rajput minced no words as he lashed out at station heads and officers allegedly shielding the narcotics trade. "It is impossible that bottles of intoxicating cough syrup are lying everywhere, and station heads are unaware of it. Either they are blind, or they are complicit," he said.
The officer's remarks came in the wake of multiple high-profile drug seizures in Rewa that point to a multi-crore illegal narcotic syrup racket, stretching from Bhopal to Delhi.
Just this week, the police seized 1,920 bottles of narcotic cough syrup from a Skoda car in Rewa city, valued at Rs 7.3 lakh, and arrested three accused. On Diwali and the following day, another 3,634 bottles were seized, along with three vehicles, together worth nearly Rs 12 lakh.
And yet, Rajput's fury revealed an uncomfortable truth -- that these crackdowns are too little, too late, and possibly meant to cover tracks rather than clean up the system.
IG Rajput didn't stop at exposure. He issued a chilling ultimatum.
"Mend yourselves," he warned his men, "or you will be responsible for your own fate".
"Within 15 days of this campaign, whatever happens to such people will happen but remember, I will be deeply saddened to see them wearing a garland of shame in front of society," he added.
Rajput's address painted a grim picture of Rewa's drug crisis. "This narcotic cough syrup has reached every village, every street, every neighborhood," he said. "Understand the magnitude of this menace.
The time for excuses is over. No negligence, no complicity will be tolerated. If you have been given a police station, you must free it from medical drugs," he said.
The IG also cited the example of the former DGP of Punjab, referring to a newspaper article published that morning.
"Today, a newspaper has published news about Punjab's former DGP. It mentions what happened to his own son. Even the home of a DGP and his family could not remain safe from the grip of drugs," he said.
Rewa's drug racket has already reached the corridors of power.
Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla and Rewa MP Janardan Mishra have both directed the police to crack down on the trade.
Yet, the IG's statement lays bare a stunning contradiction: Though top leaders issue orders, local station heads are allegedly providing cover to traffickers.
Rewa, once known for its temples and tiger reserves, is now being whispered about as the 'Corex Capital' of Madhya Pradesh -- a reference to the banned cough syrup at the center of the racket. The syrup, laced with codeine, is cheap, addictive, and devastatingly popular among young people.
