A Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader from West Bengal’s Hooghly district was arrested in Kolkata on Friday, 19 February, along with a friend, also a BJYM member, for allegedly possessing 100 grams of cocaine.
The BJYM leader, Pamela Goswami, and her friend, Probir Kumar Dey, were arrested from a car by the Kolkata Police in the city’s Alipore area.
Sources in the police tell The Quint that cops were following Goswami’s car for some time and tracked her this time too.
On searching her bags, they allegedly found 100 gm of cocaine.
“She was involved in drug trafficking for quite some time. Today, we got information that she along with her supplier Prabir was reaching the spot to hand over the drugs to the purchasers,” said a police officer, reported news agency PTI.
Goswami was taken to the Kolkata Police headquarters at Lalbazar and then taken to the Alipore Police Station.
When being taken to the station, Goswami allegedly shouted “I have been falsely accused,” reported India Today.
Before joining the BJYM in 2019, Goswami was a model and has also done small roles in Bengali television serials. She has also reportedly been an air stewardess.
She was inducted into the party by Bengal BJP Chief Dilip Ghosh along with actor Rimjhim Mitra.
She is an observer for BJYM Hooghly district apart from being General Secretary of BJYM Bengal.
The Bengal BJP has refused to comment on the veracity of the allegations against Goswami but has said that law should take its course.
“We had earlier seen that the state police had named several BJP activists in arms cases. I do not have much information about this incident that is why I will not be able to say more. Pamela is a young girl. If she has done anything wrong, the law will take its course,” said BJP leader Locket Chatterjee.
“I do not know whether this is planted. The model code of conduct is yet to come into effect and the police are still under the state government. So, anything can be possible. We need to see whether the packets were planted inside her vehicle and her bag. I am not sure,” said BJP Bengal spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya.
The Trinamool Congress attacked the BJP over the arrests.
“Earlier, we saw the involvement of several BJP leaders in child trafficking, and now drug trafficking. Every time they cannot cry conspiracy. It’s a shame that their (BJP’s) women leaders are involved in such illegal activities,” said TMC minister and leader Chandrima Bhattacharya.
