Twenty-years-ago, a Delhi University graduate had entered the world of smuggling and then rose to own a hotel in Indonesia. But, a car drive to meet his family landed him into police net.
Deepak Bhardwaj (41) was arrested along with his associate Vinod Kumar (40) for allegedly smuggling red sandalwood from Andhra Pradesh and used to stock it in different godowns in NCR.
Police said that Bhardwaj used Naxal links and other sources to procure red sandalwood from Andhra Pradesh and used to stock it in different godowns in NCR.
“The accused were arrested on Thursday night from near ISBT Kashmere Gate. Bhardwaj is involved in more than 14 cases of red sandalwood smuggling; drug trafficking, fraud, assault and cheating in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Mumbai, Maharashtra. He is wanted in 6 cases and has been declared proclaimed offender in four cases,” a senior police officer said.
Bhardwaj’s accomplice Kumar is also a proclaimed offender in a case of human trafficking in Hoshiarpur of Punjab. Bhardwaj, whose father worked as a Section Officer in Parliament, was hiding in a flat in Greater Noida and was on his way to meet his family when he was arrested by police.
“In 1993, he allegedly entered in the crime world with his friend Manoj Roy by smuggling photo-chromic glasses into India from Burma. He used to sell these photo-chromatic glasses in Ballimaran in Old Delhi and Muradabad in UP,” the officer added.