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A Tribune Special Chandigarh, June 23 Dismissed from the Army, Gurinder Bhullar was perhaps one of the top few alleged drug smugglers of the region who was arrested with the contraband. Though there was nothing to suggest that he himself was an addict, throughout his judicial custody he mostly remained in hospital. He, according to sources in the Punjab Prisons Department, was a diabetic. Gurinder Bhullar had allegedly close links with notorious criminal Charles Shobraj. They were together in Tihar Jail in Delhi. He was earlier arrested in Ferozepore on a charge of possessing opium. Though he had a house in Chandigarh, his activities often escaped the attention of the local police. Investigations into cases registered under the Special Laws make startling revelations. With the exception of Gurinder Bhullar, nearly 60 per cent of the persons arrested by the state police or Narcotics Control Bureau men are either “pandis” or “couriers”, who work on a hefty commission for ferrying supplies from one destination to another. The Tribune ran into Gola (not his real name), a “pandi” from the border belt, who has been in the trade for a long time. “The actual players never come into the limelight and operate from their well-furnished homes or offices. Their job is to finance the whole operation and take a major share of the profit,” maintains Gola, holding that the risk of collecting and delivering the consignments rests on men like him. “My job is to follow instructions, collect the consignment and deliver it to the courier. I will be paid between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 per kg of contraband collected and delivered.” Gola says that on the basis of directions, “pandis” are required to reach a particular place, mostly when there is no moon, between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. The arrival is announced by throwing a few pellets of earth across the fence. “‘Pandis’ across the fence either throw packets of the contraband or we use siphons made from PVC pipes, normally with 6” diameter to get the supplies. Some of these operations are carried out with the connivance of the security men on patrol duty. The securitymen leave their post for a while, going to the next observation post on one pretext or the other. The operation lasts barely 15 or 20 minutes and they return only after we have collected the consignment. If the security staff are vigilant and tough, reconnaissance of the border area is carried out to locate a vacant or unimportant border post. “We normally get an opportunity when guards change duties after midnight. the time and the quantity of the contraband supplied is conveyed to us through coded messages. For example, we are told to collect 30 metres of ‘latha’ (cloth), meaning 30 kg of heroin,” he adds. The best time to operate, says Gola, is when the paddy or wheat crop is at least knee-high. He explains that since the actual players behind this multi-crore trade remain behind the scenes, only “pandis” and couriers usually get caught. There are a number of cases in which either drivers or the petty employees are booked after vehicles carrying contraband are intercepted and checked. Though searches are normally carried out in the presence of gazetted officers, in many cases, it is alleged, the real culprits are allowed to escape and their employees booked. In most cases, even the drivers, cooks or other employees , are subsequently acquitted as not only the sample of the contraband seized fails the laboratory test but witnesses also turn hostile. The conviction rate in cases handled by the state police is very low. — To be continued
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