Kolkata, 20 August (H.S.) : In an overnight anti-drug operation, Jalpaiguri District Police arrested a government school teacher after allegedly recovering raw materials and equipment used to manufacture brown sugar from his rented house in Nagrakata.

The arrested teacher has been identified as 46-year-old Ranjit Sikdar. Another person, Dheeraj Mahato, a resident of Pundibari in neighbouring Cooch Behar district, was also arrested in connection with the case.

The operation was conducted near the Chhochhariya petrol pump in Nagrakata. Police had reportedly maintained strict secrecy about the raid, with even lower-ranking personnel kept unaware of the operation during its initial stages.

Jalpaiguri Superintendent of Police Sujata Kumari Veenapani said the police had received information from internal sources and were investigating whether a larger drug network was operating behind the alleged manufacturing unit.

The two accused are scheduled to be produced before a district court on Thursday. Police are expected to seek their custody for a detailed investigation.

According to police, Sikdar had been working as a teacher at a local government high school for several years. However, he was allegedly involved in drug-related activities in the area. His native place is Bamangola in Malda district, and police said he had been jailed there several years ago in connection with a drug-related case.

Police sources said the West Bengal Police Special Task Force had shared information regarding alleged drug trafficking with the district police several days ago. Following this, the district police began monitoring Sikdar.

On Wednesday at around 10 p.m., a large police team raided his rented house. During the initial search, police recovered Rs 8.39 lakh in cash and some suspected counterfeit currency notes, but did not immediately find any significant quantity of drugs.

The police subsequently alerted the 46th Battalion of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). SSB personnel reached the location with a trained sniffer dog to assist in the search.

With the help of the sniffer dog, investigators allegedly recovered around 67 grams of raw material suspected to be used in the manufacture of brown sugar, along with equipment and other materials used in the process.

Police also recovered special white cloth reportedly used in the manufacturing process and plastic material allegedly used for packaging the drug.

Following the recovery, Sikdar was arrested. During the search, police also arrested Dheeraj Mahato, who was present at the house. Investigators suspect that Mahato had allegedly come to Sikdar to purchase brown sugar using the cash recovered from the premises.

Further investigation is underway to determine the source of the raw materials, the intended distribution network and whether the accused were linked to a larger drug trafficking operation.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh