The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a ₹50,000 reward-carrying accused wanted in a 2023 NDPS case registered in Ayodhya, officials said on Sunday. The accused, identified as Arun, son of Gangasharan, was arrested from Ambedkar Colony in Babrala area of Sambhal district on Friday evening, the STF said in an official statement.
According to officials, Arun was wanted in case registered at Bikapur police station in Ayodhya under Sections 8, 20 and 29 of the NDPS Act in 2023. He had been absconding since the case was lodged and a cash reward of ₹50,000 had subsequently been announced for information leading to his arrest.
The STF said the arrest was made by a team of its Prayagraj field unit acting on specific intelligence inputs that the accused had been hiding in Sambhal. During questioning, Arun told investigators that he hailed from Jagriti Vihar in Meerut and had been involved in the illegal trafficking of narcotic substances along with his aides Danish, Avadh Ram Dhruv and Vinay Kumar for the past several years. He allegedly used to procure consignments of ganja and sell them at higher prices in Meerut and nearby districts.
According to the STF, in 2023, a consignment of ganja had allegedly been sourced from Odisha by the group. However, two of his accomplices — Danish and Avadh Ram Dhruv — were arrested in Ayodhya with the contraband, leading to the registration of the NDPS case.
Officials said Arun went underground and started living in Sambhal after learning that he had been named as a wanted accused and declared a reward for his capture. The arrested accused has been handed over to the Bikapur police station in Ayodhya.
