Amritsar police demolish drug smugglers' illegally acquired property
This is the 20th such operation in the past year
The Amritsar Police Commissionerate has demolished an illegally acquired property belonging to two alleged drug smugglers at Kot Atma Ram on Sultanwind Road, under the jurisdiction of Division B Police Station here today. This is the 20th such operation in the past year.
The razed structure was allegedly built using proceeds from narcotics trade, said Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar who visited the site and oversaw the demolition apart from interacting with residents of the area.
The property belonged to real brothers Kuljeet Singh alias Happy Penchar (36) and his brother Jatinder Singh alias Sonu (37). The accused are currently lodged in jail and have multiple criminal cases registered against them under the NDPS Act, Arms Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code. They had no other known sources of income.
Bhullar, while sharing details, told that Kuljeet Singh faces six FIRs registered between 2014 and 2026, including cases related to NDPS violations, arms offences, attempt to murder and other serious crimes at Police Stations Maqboolpura and B Division. Similarly, his brother Jatinder Singh has eight criminal cases registered against him, including cases under the NDPS Act at Sultanwind Police Station and other serious offences at Maqboolpura, Chheharta and B Division police stations.
He stated that the demolition was executed by the Municipal Corporation assisted by the police as part of a sustained crackdown on assets created through drug money. He reiterated that properties built from proceeds of narcotics trafficking would not be allowed to stand.
The Police Commissioner also urged citizens to assist the police in its fight against drugs and organised crime. He said that the people can share their information confidentially on the Punjab Police Anti-Gangster Helpline (93946-93946), with rewards of up to Rs 10 lakh for credible inputs leading to the arrest of gangsters.
Sharing data, he said during past one near under the Punjab police flagship campaign (Yudh Nashian Virudh), Amritsar police commissionerate registered as many as 1,767 NDPS cases leading to the arrest of 3,140 drug peddlers. Enforcement agencies seized over 268 kg of heroin, along with opium, methamphetamine, ganja, charas, cocaine, narcotic powder and poppy husk in substantial quantities.
Additionally, the police recovered 1,550 injections and nearly 1.94 lakh capsules and tablets. Drug money worth over Rs 3.10 crore was also confiscated, and 132 vehicles allegedly used in narcotics activities were impounded, including four-wheelers, three-wheelers and two-wheelers.
