Four foreign nationals and a luxurious house near Delhi – a detail that didn’t mean much to anyone until it was known that the team of four was using the property to produce “fine-quality” banned methamphetamine drugs.

The lab at the “luxurious and lonely private place” at Alestonia Estate in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida was busted by the Delhi Police on Tuesday. The police recovered 445 grams of fine-quality banned methamphetamine drug and 20.5 kg of raw materials that included one kg of pseudoephedrine – an ingredient for the illicit manufacture of methamphetamines. Sophisticated equipment, including a heating mantle machine and high-quality face masks, were also recovered from the lab.

Nigerian national Eze Uchenna James (49), Alitumo Ifedi Shedrack (28), Eze Ibe Emeka Chibuzo alias Iko (56) and Kenyan national Ivo Osita alias Usta alias Osey (44) have been arrested, police said.

Out of the accused, Eze, Alitumo and Ivo were previously arrested and convicted in drug trafficking cases and were out on conditional bail, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh.

The drug bust was part of an ongoing operation by the Delhi Police against the suppliers of narcotics substances.

On November 27, 2023, a team of the Anti-Narcotics Cell of Dwarka district got a secret tip-off about a Nigerian national being involved in a drug syndicate. The team conducted a raid and caught Eze from Uttam Nagar.

Soon after Eze’s arrest, his associate Alitumo was caught from the same area of Uttam Nagar on January 11 and about 100 grams of methamphetamine drug was recovered from his possession.

The police said Alitumo along with Ibe and Ivo used to manufacture fine-quality methamphetamine drug in the Greater Noida-based lab, a raid was conducted and all of them were caught on January 16.

Police said the accused used to distribute the drugs to their potential customers in Delhi and nearby areas.

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren – arrested late Wednesday night by the Enforcement Directorate on money laundering charges – has been sent to judicial custody for one day, with a definitive ruling on the central agency’s request for 10-day custody expected Friday afternoon. 

The Ranchi special court before which Mr Soren – whom the agency claims was directly involved in an alleged Rs 600 crore land scam – was presented this morning, delayed passing its final order because the Supreme Court has taken cognisance of a petition by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader.

Hours before he was produced in the special court, Mr Soren had moved the Supreme Court to challenge his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. In his petition, he said the agency had “abused its power and acted in a malafide manner to destabilise a democratically-elected state government”.

He also called his arrest “illegal and without jurisdiction”; Mr Soren has already filed one case against senior officers of the probe agency under the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes Act.

“The ED is brazenly acting under the (diktats) of the central government and hounding the petitioner to destabilise a democratically-elected government headed by the petitioner…” he complained.

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud agreed to hear the plea at 2 pm Friday.

Visuals from earlier in the day – from outside the Ranchi courtroom – showed a confident Mr Soren smiling and waving as he got out of a vehicle and was escorted inside surrounded by ED officials and security personnel.

The agency believes Hemant Soren was “directly involved with acquisition (and) possession of land” and also in the use of proceeds of the crime. Details of these illegally acquired properties were found on phones of other accused in the case, the agency is expected to tell the court in today’s hearing.

Meanwhile, Champai Soren, who is expected to replace Hemant Soren as the Chief Minister, will meet Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan at 5.30 pm. In a brief letter this morning, he said he had the support of a majority of lawmakers and the ability to “provide a stable government in the state”.

READ | “No Government In Jharkhand For 18 Hours”: Champai Soren’s SOS To Governor

He also red-flagged the lack of a functioning government and the “situation of confusion”, and said, “…the MLAs, and people of the state, expect you will take steps to form a popular government.”

Champai Soren, the Transport Minister, is seen as an acceptable alternative to Hemant Soren’s original plan – to make his wife, Kalpana Soren, the Chief Minister till he returns to power.

READ | How Champai Soren Emerged Consensus Candidate As Jharkhand Chief Minister

There was, however, opposition to that idea, with many in the party, including the Chief Minister’s extended family, who said Ms Soren – not a MLA – did not have the necessary experience.

Hemant Soren was arrested Wednesday night amid high drama all this week, starting with “the case of the missing Chief Minister” that played out from Monday morning to Tuesday afternoon.

READ | Before Hemant Soren’s Arrest, Drama Outside Raj Bhavan In Jharkhand

He had flown into Delhi Saturday night and was reportedly seen leaving his home in the city’s Shantiniketan area the following night – on foot and with a shawl around his head.

The Enforcement Directorate turned up at 7 am the following day to find the house empty and Mr Soren’s whereabouts unknown. The agency said it seized Rs 36 lakh in cash and a luxury SUV.

READ | Hemant Soren’s 1,300 km Car Journey As Probe Agency Watched Delhi Airport

Mr Soren remained “missing” till Tuesday, when he popped up in Ranchi to hold a meeting of his party’s lawmakers. Reports said he had taken a nearly 1,300 km road trip from Delhi.

After he emerged in Ranchi, he was questioned by the ED for over seven hours.

As the day wore on, it became clear Hemant Soren would be arrested and, in dramatic final moments, NDTV was told he refused to sign his arrest memo till he had resigned.

READ | Hemant Soren Refused To Sign Arrest Memo Until He Resigned: Sources

This, sources said, was to avoid the distinction of becoming the first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested. Giving in to his demand, the ED team took Mr Soren to Raj Bhavan to resign.

He was then taken to the agency’s office in the city and formally arrested.

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Bobby Deol has had a resurrection of sorts with Animal. He has only a 15-minute role in the film and plays the villain and yet, people have taken to his character, Abrar Haque, big time. Even he’s hard-pressed to explain the popularity of his character. The hype is even bigger than what he saw with his debut film Barsaat (1995). It’s like a new generation of fans have rediscovered him and are liking what they’re seeing. Thanks to OTT, he got to act in products like Aashram and Love Hostel, where his dark-hued roles got him a lot of plaudits. Now, Animal has cemented that foundation and looks like Bobby is all set to play another big innings. But the Deols have all been like that. You write them off at your own peril…

Thanks to your role in Animal, you’ve been flooded with compliments over the internet.

I feel like I am dreaming. It was so humbling and overwhelming. It has been an amazing year for all of us. Bhaiya’s film was a blockbuster. Papa’s film did very well, and now Animal has given me so much love and appreciation. When Papa’s film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani got released, the character that Papa played, if somebody else had played it, the magic wouldn’t have happened. And then, when Sunny Bhaiya’s Gadar 2 got released, I was so happy that after 22 years, Bhaiya’s film has been such a big hit. I did have a gut feeling that Animal would be made well, as Sandeep Reddy Vanga was directing it. But I never thought that it would garner such a huge box office collection. God has really been kind and the love of my fans and the audience has just been extremely amazing.

We have seen you teary-eyed after the success of the film.

I am a very emotional person. And there is nothing wrong with that. We Deols are like this only. I am not able to control my excess emotions because I have waited for many years for this day.

Which is the best compliment you’ve received so far for this role?

Many of my colleagues and my juniors have called and wished me well. I have spoken to some of them and have received many messages. The kind of love the industry gave to my brother after Gadar 2 became a hit, I’m getting the same kind of love from them.

How did your family react to your performance?

When I met my father, he told me that people were going crazy over you. He is very fond of checking social media reactions. He was so happy. I told him, “Haanji papa, main aapka beta hun isliye mujhe itna pyar mil raha hai.” I feel that I have finally achieved something to make my father proud. He feels that I have done something special for him. Bhaiya is also very happy. So every evening, when he comes back from work, we look at each other and wonder about what’s currently been happening in our lives.

Has the definition of success changed for you?

What is success? For me, the biggest achievement is to be understood as an actor. I just want to be loved by people as an actor. I mean, people love me, but I want them to see my work and to achieve that in a role that’s only 15 minutes long. That’s special, indeed. I never imagined this. That’s why I call it a dream. So every actor dreams that they will get that kind of fame and love. I am getting all of it together at once. It’s heady indeed.

When Sandeep Reddy Vanga offered you this film, did you feel that you would be able to play this extremely violent role?

I have done many action films in my life. It was challenging. But when you are okay with being challenged, then everything becomes easy. That’s how I look at it. I want to be thrown into situations as an actor where I really have to find a way to perform and that’s the joy of every actor.

How did you prepare physically and mentally to play Abrar Haque?

I didn’t look at Abrar’s character as a villain. I looked at it like a hero. His grandfather committed suicide in front of his eyes, and that shocked him. Because of that shock, he loses his voice. He loves his family so much that he will kill for them. He is a romantic. He has three wives. And he wants to avenge his grandfather’s death. And that’s how I looked at it. I love my family very much, so I imagined that. Physically, I did a lot of gym work. I had to control my diet. In fact, I had to control it so much for two to three months that I stopped feeling hungry. I used to work out thrice a day. But I used to enjoy it because I knew the benefit of that would be something else.

Do these kinds of characters affect you mentally?

Nothing at all. No. I am an actor. I switched off. Nothing affects me. I have done so much before this. I have done Aashram. When I was doing Aashram, the character was way more villainous than the one in Animal.

People loved your negative characters in Aashram and then Love Hostel.

When I was doing a negative role in an Aashram, I felt weird. I would feel disgusted with myself. But I reminded myself that I was only playing a character. In every person, there is something good and bad. You become good only when you can control your bad. In the evening, when I would eat along with other actors, I would feel normal. It doesn’t affect me.

There have been mixed reviews for this film owing to the violence.

Every film gets mixed reviews. There is so much violence in the world. We have made something related to what’s happening in the world. Everybody is ready to create a fuss. We are not promoting violence.

A good co-actor helps you give your best. Did something similar happen when you shared the screen space with Ranbir Kapoor?

I am a big fan of Ranbir. According to me, he is one of the best actors today. He is just amazing. He and I are both from film families and we have been through the same things, and our families have been through similar things. He is such a big star, yet he gave me so much respect. And such people are few and far between in our industry. So I became even a bigger fan of his as a person.

From chocolate boy to villain, do you give credit for this transformation to OTT?

Obviously. I give complete credit to OTT because it has given opportunities to so many actors and technicians. Every actor wants to play different characters and we don’t get that chance. And OTT gave me that chance. So
I think that’s one of the best things that has happened to me.

You have come out of a dark phase. You overcame alcoholism. How did you gather the strength for this fight?

Self-belief is the most important thing to anyone. If you don’t believe in yourself, then how will you move forward? For that, you need to be focused and disciplined. Discipline is an important thing. And that’s how I have moved forward. There was self-doubt for sure; that’s why people didn’t want to work with me. I used to think, “What is wrong with me?”I started doubting myself.

What has failure taught you?

Stay focussed. If you are focused, you will stay disciplined. You lose discipline, then you get depressed. I have learnt this from my Papa and Sunny Bhaiya. Self-belief is important. Be true to yourself and be a good human being.

Your wife, Tanya, has always been supportive.

She is my backbone. Being married to her is the best thing that has happened to me. She is a simple and strong lady. Only a wife can understand her husband’s difficulties. She understands me very well. She is very talented and a successful entrepreneur.She has three kids and she looks after them. The biggest one is me (laughs). The other two are younger than me.

What kind of relationship do you share with your sons?

When we were growing up, Papa used to be busy with film shoots. So we hardly got a chance to spend time with him. But I can say I was lucky to spend time with him. I used to go with him for outdoor shooting. My father always complains that I don’t open my heart to him. But that’s not been easy for me, as we were brought up differently. That era was different, as there was too much distance between father and son. I’ve tried to negate that and look upon my sons as my friends and be as close to them as possible.

Having seen the extremes of life in showbiz, what advice would you like to share with your sons?

First, be a good human being. Believe in yourself. Be disciplined. Be focused.

Animal Park is coming, so are you going to rise from the dead?

(Laughs) I didn’t even know about it till I saw the film. I wasn’t told the entire story. I was only narrated and given the gist of the entire film. People are forming their own stories about it now and some are very interesting. But I don’t know anything about it.