PHAGWARA: In a major breakthrough, Jalandhar Rural Police arrested a proclaimed offender wanted in NDPS Act cases who had been evading arrest for the past one year, along with two drug peddlers including a woman, recovering 349 narcotic pills and a weapon during a special 24-hour drive against drug trafficking.
The arrested accused have been identified as Gurkirat Singh alias Guru resident of village Butra, who was declared proclaimed offender by the court of Additional Sessions Judge Yukti Goyal on March 4, 2023; Pushpinder alias Kaka resident of village Bara, Guraya; and Anjali daughter of Chiranji Lal, resident of Mohalla Santokhpura, Phillaur.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh, said that these arrests are part of an intensified campaign against drug trafficking and street crime in the district. The operations led to the recovery of 185 narcotic pills from one accused, 164 narcotic pills from the female accused, and a knife used in a robbery case.
The special police teams were led by Ms. Jasroop Kaur Bath, IPS, Superintendent of Police (Investigation), along with Mr. Kulwant Singh, PPS, DSP Adampur, and Mr. Sarwan Singh Ball, PPS, DSP Phillaur. Inspector Sikandar Singh Virk, SHO Bhogpur, Inspector Palwinder Singh, SHO Guraya, and Inspector Sanjeev Kapur, SHO Phillaur, along with their teams conducted simultaneous operations at multiple locations.
In the first breakthrough, the Bhogpur Police team arrested Gurkirat Singh who was wanted in two cases including a robbery at Lakshmi Petrol Pump Butra where he had attacked the pump attendant with a knife when asked for payment. The knife used in the crime has been recovered. The accused was also evading arrest in an NDPS Act case registered at Police Station Bhogpur since July 2024.
In the second breakthrough, the Guraya police team arrested Pushpinder alias Kaka and recovered 185 narcotic pills from his possession near Dana Mandi Goraya.
The third success came when the Phillaur police team apprehended Anjali, recovering 164 narcotic pills during a raid at Mohalla Santokh Pura Phillaur.
Three separate cases have been registered. At PS Bhogpur, BNS No. 93 dated 25.07.24 u/s 115(2), 126(2), 332(m), 351(2), 351(3), 191(3) was registered against Gurkirat Singh for the robbery case. For the drug recoveries, BNS No. 140 dated 20.11.2024 u/s 22(B)-61-85 NDPS Act was registered at PS Guraya, and BNS No. 308 dated 18.11.2024 u/s 22-NDPS Act was registered at PS Phillaur.
Initial investigations reveal that the accused were operating separately in their respective areas. The female accused had been allegedly selling drugs secretly for an extended period, while Pushpinder alias Kaka is suspected to have links with larger drug networks.
The arrested accused will be produced in the respective courts and police remand will be sought to investigate their forward and backward linkages with drug trafficking networks.
“This crackdown reaffirms our zero-tolerance policy against drug trafficking. The arrest of a proclaimed offender and significant drug seizures demonstrate our commitment to maintaining law and order in the district, " said SSP Khakh