The opium, police said, was clandestinely planted between maize and wheat crops on a five-acre plot of land on the banks of the Shivnath river. (File)Days after police arrested a BJP leader in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district for allegedly illegally cultivating opium in his distant relative’s field, he is learnt to have told investigators that a domestic help hired from Rajasthan five years ago is to blame. Investigators, however, are taking the claims with a pinch of salt, sources said. The BJP leader, Vinayak Tamrakar, 58, was in charge of state coordination for rice milling processing work in the BJP’s farmers’ wing and was suspended by the party on the day of his arrest. The Indian Express visited the field on Tuesday and spotted scattered opium plants, while a tractor was being used to level the ground.

Source: Indian Express March 11, 2026 12:01 UTC