A secretary of the state unit of the BJP’s youth wing, Pamela Goswami, was arrested on Friday for allegedly carrying a white powdery substance in her bag.

“Acting on a tip-off, New Alipore police station conducted an operation and spotted a Honda BR-V car in front of Parameswari Bhawan on Nalini Ranjan Avenue, Block B, in New Alipore. On searching, approximately 90g of suspected cocaine worth approximately Rs 10 lakh was found,” said deputy commissioner (south) Sudheer Kumar Neelkantam.

Goswami, 23, Prabir Kumar Dey, 38, and Somnath Chatterjee, 26, have been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, he said. They will be produced in Alipore court on Saturday.

Dey has been identified as Goswami’s friend, while Chatterjee is a private guard engaged for her protection.

The police said some white powder in small packets was found inside Goswami’s handbag and some were found on the front seat of the car.

Senior police officers said the charges were drawn only after prima facie confirmation that the white substance found in the car was a banned psychotropic substance.

According to the rule, a chemical is used to carry out an indicative spot test to confirm whether a white powder is cocaine. A positive result is enough to register a case.

For an assertive test, a sample of the seized material will be sent to the forensic laboratory, whose reports will be considered as evidence in court.

Goswami, who joined the BJP in 2019, is one of the state secretaries of the BJP Yuva Morcha and an observer for the youth wing’s Hooghly zone.

An active member of the party, she rose through the ranks over the past few months and had become a regular face in party meetings and gatherings in Calcutta, sources in the BJP said.

The Yuva Morcha’s state president, Saumitra Khan, was a mentor to the young leader, said sources in the party.

When a lot of attention was directed towards Khan on Friday, he rubbished the allegations against his party colleague and dubbed her arrest a “political conspiracy”.

“This is nothing but a political conspiracy. They felt threatened by Pamela because she is young and yet doing good political work in south Calcutta and Bhowanipore. We will provide legal support to her on behalf of Yuva Morcha,” Khan said.

The punishment for carrying up to 100g of cocaine, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, can vary from six months to 10 years in jail. Carrying more than 100g of cocaine invites a jail term varying between 10 and 20 years.

Senior officers in the narcotics department said one gram of cocaine is enough for an individual to snort and it was rare for a person to procure 90g at a time for personal use.

“It is extremely expensive and not many can afford such a large quantity at a time,” said an officer of the narcotics department.

BJP leader Locket Chatterjee said the allegations were false. “The police used to frame our leaders with ganja (cannabis) cases. Now they are framing women leaders with cocaine. This is how they want to stop the BJP. This is absolutely a conspiracy against us,” Chatterjee alleged.

Goswami, Dey and the guard were taken to New Alipore police station for examination. Sources said they allegedly failed to explain the presence of the banned psychotropic substance in their possession.

The red vehicle in which they were travelling was intercepted in the middle of Nalini Ranjan Avenue in New Alipore by eight police cars, apparently waiting after a tip-off, police sources said.

As the red vehicle came to a halt and its occupants stepped out, wondering why they were stopped in the middle of the road, women police officers in plainclothes emerged out of the police vehicles and started searching the car.