Peddler held from locality where family lost fifth son to drugs

Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala): Just when a family living in the Pandori Mohalla of Sultanpur Lodhi was losing its fifth son to drugs, around the same time, district Kapurthala police arrested a youth who was living in their neighbourhood, but was absconding since 2022, along with his three accomplices, with a consignment of 16.8 kg heroin. Accused Balwinder Singh, better known as Raju Baba in the Pandori Mohalla, was wanted by the district police in a murder case of 2022. His house is some yards away from the bereaved family's house. He and his accomplices were arrested by the Phagwara police.As Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav on April 7 — the same day the 32-year-old addict died in govt medical college Amritsar — announced his and three other operatives' arrest, he claimed that it was a Pakistan-backed narcotics smuggling module. The other three arrested with him included Sumanpreet Kaur of Gohalwar in Amritsar, Harpal Singh and Jaskaranbir Singh, both residents of village Dauke in Amritsar. The DGP also said that preliminary investigations revealed that the drug trafficking was being orchestrated at the behest of Pakistan and Dubai-based handlers. The consignment was brought from the Amritsar border area and was intended for delivery in Chandigarh, he said. When asked on Friday, Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora said that accused Balwinder was absconding after the murder in 2022. He said that his interrogation revealed that he got into drug peddling around two years back and was active not in his locality but in other areas of the state. "He was mainly responsible for coordinating the module we busted. The consignment recovered from him and three others was also meant for supply in Chandigarh," he said, adding, "this module's further linkages are being investigated".According to the police officials, Phagwara police laid a trap and when the cops intercepted the suspects' Baleno car, the accused attempted to run over the police party to escape. "After a high-speed chase, the police had to fire rounds at the vehicle's tyres to bring it to a halt," the SSP said on April 7.MSID:: 130171578 413 |
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