PO among three drug peddlers held in crackdown

In a major breakthrough, the 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 a proclaimed offender by the court of Additional Sessions Judge Yukti Goyal on March 4, 2023; Pushpinder, alias Kaka, resident of village Bara, Goraya; and Anjali, resident of Mohalla Santokhpura, Phillaur.

SSP, Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh, said these arrests were 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 Jasroop Kaur Bath, SP, (Investigation), along with Kulwant Singh, DSP, Adampur, and Sarwan Singh Ball, DSP, Phillaur. Inspector Sikandar Singh Virk, SHO, Bhogpur, Inspector Palwinder Singh, SHO, Goraya, 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 Goraya police team arrested Pushpinder, alias Kaka, and recovered 185 narcotic pills from his possession near Dana Mandi, Goraya.

The third success came when a Phillaur police team apprehended Anjali, recovering 164 narcotic pills during a raid at Mohalla Santokh Pura Phillaur.

Three separate cases have been registered.

Initial investigations reveal that the accused were operating separately in their respective areas. The female accused had been allegedly selling drugs, while Kaka is suspected to have links with larger drug networks.

The arrested accused will be produced in courts and police remand will be sought to investigate their forward and backward linkages with drug trafficking networks.