With fleet of luxury cars, she ran Rajasthan’s biggest opium racket

Mangalore Today News Network

Jodhpur, Oct 14, 2016:  With her face veiled in a simple lemon yellow cloth, 31-year-old Sumita Bishnoi could be any other woman from rural Rajasthan.

Except that she is now in the custody of Jodhpur police who believe they have stumbled upon one of the biggest drug smuggling networks in western Rajasthan, led by Sumita Bishnoi, who is also known as Sunita.

The police accidentally stumbled upon her identity when they caught two people smuggling opium two days ago. The smugglers said they were working under instructions of a woman called Sunita. A police raid on her luxurious four-storey house in Jodhpur’s Boranada area left the police astonished.

They recovered 76 grams of opium from her home, but more importantly they discovered evidence like a systematic GPS monitoring system and several luxury cars with which Sumita Bishnoi allegedly ran in a racket in opium supply and delivery.

"She came to Jodhpur six years ago with her husband - a driver from the village - but once her husband moved to Karnataka working as a driver, Sumita came into contact with Rajuram Ikram. Rajuram is a known liquor and drug smuggler, he is also a history sheeter from Jalore, it is he who introduced Sumita to the world of smuggling," said Anwar Khan, Station House Inspector of Boranada police station in Jodhpur where Sumita is now in custody.

A year back when Rajuram was briefly arrested for smuggling opium, Sumita reportedly began to take over his network. She would herself escort and drive consignments of opium from Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh and Chittorgarh in Rajasthan - which are traditional opium growing areas - these would then be further delivered on her instructions. She also controlled a network of luxury cars through an elaborate GPS system which she monitored from her house, these cars were used to pick up opium consignments and deliver them in parts of western Rajasthan. She allegedly also made members of her family part of this network.

The police have sealed her four storey bungalow and are on the lookout for Rajuram Ikram, her partner who is on the run.

Along with Sumita the police have arrested four others of her gang.