In a major embarrassment to the Congress, the Excise department seized ganja from a rented house currently occupied by the family of a prominent Youth Congress leader.
Acting on a tip-off, Excise sleuths carried out a raid into the house where Nazeeb Sulaiman, younger brother of Nahas Pathanamthitta, State general secretary of the youth Congress, was staying. With the raid yielding 2.5 kilograms of ganja, Nazeeb Sulaiman went into hiding and is yet to be traced.
“The raid followed a specific input on the person’s role in the narcotic trade. We, however, do not have anything to connect the YC leader with this business,” said a top Excise official in the district. A follow-up investigation suggested that Nahas, elder brother of the accused, is currently staying with his family in Karunagappally, Kollam.
The incident, meanwhile, has caught the Congress in Pathanamthitta off guard with the political opponents kick-starting a social media campaign highlighting the issue. Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala cancelled his scheduled inauguration of the Sabarimala help desk opened by the Youth Congress in Pathanamthitta, citing personal inconvenience.
