Chandigarh: Jagdish Bhola, a former Deputy Superintendent of Punjab Police and once a celebrated wrestler, walked out of Bathinda Central Jail on Sunday evening after spending nearly 12 years behind bars in one of Punjab’s most high-profile drug trafficking cases.
Bhola was released after a bail order was issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on May 21. Confirming the news, Bathinda Central Jail Superintendent Manjit Singh Sidhu stated, “He was released on Sunday evening after completion of all formalities.”
The bail itself, however, is imposed with strict conditions. Bhola had to furnish a surety bond of ₹5 lakh, surrender his passport, and has been instructed to undertake a community service assignment—planting 100 trees within 15 days from the date of release.
A silver medal winner at the 1991 Asian Wrestling Championship and an Arjuna Award-winning wrestler, Bhola had been the “King Kong” of Indian wrestling. His sporting success landed him a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) rank in Punjab Police. But his misfortune started when his reported association with an enormous synthetic drug racket came to light in 2013.
Bhola was arrested in November 2013 and soon came to be known as the suspected kingpin of a massive ₹700 crore synthetic drug smuggling syndicate that operated across state borders. The network was busted during joint probes by the Punjab Police and central agencies, which tracked the illegal trade of synthetic drugs like pseudoephedrine.
After a trial, a special CBI court in 2019 sentenced Bhola to 24 years of imprisonment. In 2024, he was given a further 10-year sentence on conviction for a money laundering case related to the drug racket. During the crackdown, officials confiscated a large stock of illegal assets belonging to Bhola’s network—cash, weapons, luxury cars, and foreign currencies.
His arrest and subsequent conviction had caused a shock wave in Punjab, representing the very deep-seated nexus of crime with political patronage in the state. Bhola, once a source of inspiration to young men on wrestling mats, was charged with having constructed a drug empire with links in both the bureaucratic and political circles.
Though his bail release is a turning point in the saga that has dragged on for years, Bhola’s journey through the courts is not yet finished. His appeals of both the drug and money laundering convictions remain pending in appellate courts.
Bhola’s return to public life, even subject to stringent judicial scrutiny, has reopened controversies surrounding the state’s approach towards narcotics and the rehabilitation of celebrity inmates. His subsequent court appearances in the ongoing court duel are expected to attract widespread media scrutiny.
