Varanasi: NBW against woman in codeine syrup case; raids underway

A court in Varanasi has issued a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against Vaishali Goswami, wife of Shubham Jaiswal, in a codeine cough syrup case. ACP Kotwali Vijay Pratap Singh confirmed that police are conducting raids to arrest Goswami.

An Uttar Pradesh court has issued a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against Vaishali Goswami, wife of Shubham Jaiswal, in connection with a codeine cough syrup case registered at Kotwali police station in November.

ACP Kotwali Vijay Pratap Singh said police are conducting raids to arrest Goswami. Speaking to ANI, ACP said, “Look, in the codeine cough syrup case registered under the Kotwali police station in November, continuous action was underway under the directions of the Police Commissioner. In this connection, the name of Shubham Jaiswal’s wife, Vaishali Goswami, came to light, against whom an NBW (Non-Bailable Warrant) has been issued by the court, and the court has directed her arrest by issuing the non-bailable warrant. As of now, the police are continuously conducting raids in this regard.”

Assets Worth Rs 31 Crore Frozen

In January this year, the Varanasi police took significant action in a case related to the illicit trade of cough syrup, freezing eight immovable assets worth nearly Rs 31 crore belonging to the main accused, Bhola Jaiswal, and others. According to Neetu Kadyan, Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), Varuna Zone, the assets were frozen under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The case was registered against Bhola Jaiswal, his son Shubham Jaiswal, and others in November last year, after a large quantity of cough syrup was recovered from their possession.

SIT Submits Report to CM

On December 22, 2025, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the UP Police, probing the codeine cough syrup smuggling case, also submitted its report to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, with findings pointing to a cross-border syndicate involving the diversion of pharmaceutical consignments, hawala transactions, and links to criminal networks.

According to the SIT report, the alleged kingpin of the racket, Vibhor Rana, was granted a licence in 2016. The report claims that licences to the firms involved in the manufacture and distribution of the cough syrup were issued during the tenure of the previous Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav.

The SIT stated that enforcement action against madrasas near the Nepal border directly affected smuggling operations, prompting Vibhor and his associates to temporarily halt cross-border trafficking.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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