Bathinda, June 2 -- Sacked Punjab Police deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Jagdish Bhola, a kingpin of a drug racket busted in 2013, was released from the high-security Bathinda central prison on Sunday. Jail superintendent Manjit Singh Sidhu said Bhola was released at around 4 pm after completing the formalities.

The Punjab and Haryana high court had granted him bail on May 21. An accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Bhola got bail after spending 11 years in jail. Among other points, the court reportedly took into consideration his prolonged incarceration and the remote possibility of an early disposal of appeals.

Bhola, an alleged kingpin of the Rs.6,000-crore drug racket, has been convicted in ...