‘Inspired’ by Breaking Bad, how 2 Rajasthan teachers set up ‘lab’, began making synthetic drugs
The two science teachers, who taught physics and chemistry, were arrested earlier this week on charges of making Mephedrone
4 min read
Building where the accused were living (Photo: Parul Kulshrestha)There was nothing about Manoj Bharghav that raised even an iota of suspicion in Muklawa in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district. Among the best performing teachers at the local government school, the 25-year-old always appeared genuinely invested in his students’ welfare.
So, when word of his arrest on charges of making synthetic drugs reached the Government Senior Secondary School, Muklawa, most were in disbelief.
“I’m still in shock,” school principal Kiran Chhabra told The Indian Express. “Manoj joined the school in 2022 and is one of our most junior teachers. He would come and touch my feet every morning, follow orders and dedicatedly teach students. I’ve never seen him misbehaving with anyone.”
Bharghav was one of two science teachers arrested earlier this week on charges of making Mephedrone (MD) — a synthetic stimulant drug with effects similar to methamphetamine, commonly known meth or crystal meth. While Bharghav taught chemistry at the government school, the second suspect, Indrijeet Bishnoi, is a 35-year-old physics tutor at a local coaching centre.
The two were arrested on July 8 after the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) raided their “laboratory” — a two-bedroom flat they had allegedly leased for the purpose.
The raid came at a time when Sri Ganganagar is already battling the drug menace. According to medical officials, since 2024, more than 150 people have died of drug overdose in the district, which shares its borders with Punjab and Pakistan.
Yet, there was something new in the case. For one thing, while most drugs that local authorities had come across so far were opium and low-grade heroin — known locally as chitta — this was allegedly their first MD-related arrest in Sri Ganganagar district.
For another, the drugs were allegedly being manufactured in a residential complex right in the middle of the Sri Ganganagar city.
“We were receiving several reports on the sale of MD on the streets,” Rajasthan NCB Director Ghanshyam Soni told The Indian Express. “But this was shocking because it’s not commonly found in this area. We began investigating and found that two teachers were making this drug.”
The inspiration allegedly came from the television series ‘Breaking Bad’. Starring Bryan Cranston, the story follows a high school science teacher Walter White, whose cancer diagnosis leads him to use his knowledge of chemistry to make methamphetamine, or crystal meth.
According to the NCB, Bharghav and Bishnoi, who came from neighbouring villages in the district and were already peddling heroin, watched the series last year and decided to begin experimenting with the industrial chemicals available at the local market.
Just over two months ago, the two allegedly leased an apartment for Rs 10,000 and turned it into their lab, which they would use every weekend to make MD.
Soon, they allegedly collected enough equipment to manufacture MD in large quantities: NCB officials claim to have found 780 grams of MD – estimated to be worth Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2 crore — ready for dispatch.
Officials suspect that Bharghav and Bishnoi may have sold Rs 15 crore-worth of drugs since they began making it.
On July 10, two days after Bharghav and Bishnoi were arrested, a man identified as Ashish Rathi was taken into custody. According to the police, Rathi and his wife Simran would sell the drugs allegedly produced by Bharghav and Bishnoi.
Both allegedly have over 20 criminal cases against them. Rathi was released on bail in one of them only the day before he was arrested in this case. Simran is on the run, officials said.
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