Police tighten noose around drug smugglers active in border belt

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 15

The Amritsar rural police have tightened the noose around the drug-peddlers active in the border belt of Amritsar following the busting of a narco-terror module by the local police in which it arrested notorious cross-border smuggler Ranjit Singh Cheeta from Hisar in Haryana five days ago. He was allegedly funding operatives of terrorist organisation Hurriyat Mujahideen for carrying out terrorist activities.

The incident came to light when the city police nabbed an alleged Hurriyat Mujahideen operative, Hilal Ahmad Wagey, on April 25. He was held with Rs 29 lakh of alleged drug money which he came to take from two smugglers and cousins of Cheeta on the instructions of Hurriyat Mujahideen commander in Jammu and Kashmir Riyaz Nikoo who was later gunned down by security forces.

Besides Cheeta and Wagey, the police had nabbed Cheeta’s brother Gagandeep Singh, his two cousins Bikram Singh and Maninder Singh, besides two Gurdaspur residents Ranjit Singh and Jaswant Singh.

Following this, the police have started a campaign to nab the absconding drug smugglers. Recently, the Gharinda police booked seven members of families of alleged drug peddlers who were evading arrest for the past four months in connection with smuggling of drugs and arms through drones.

They were charged for harbouring offenders and an FIR was registered on May 10. Among those booked included Sukhdev Singh, his wife Manjit Kaur, Kanwaljit Kaur, Simranjit Kaur, Rajbir Kaur, Sukhwinder Kaur,all residents of Moude village and Joginder Singh of Dalleke village, located near the Indo-Pak border.

As per details, Sukhdev Singh was father of Ajaypal Singh, Balihar Singh of Saraj Singh and Dilbagh Singh was father of Shamsher Singh.

Gurpartap Singh Sahota, DSP, Attari, said the accused were relatives of Ajaypal Singh, Saraj Singh and Shamsher Singh who were booked for smuggling of drugs and weapons from across the international border with the help of drones.

Sahota said the family members of the alleged drug peddlers were specifically told to inform the police in case they visited them. However, they did not. “We have inputs that the accused are regular visitor to the house, but their family members failed to inform the police,” he said. The rural police had also arrested Rahul Chohan, a resident of Haryana, an Army man, Dharminder Singh of Dhanoe Khurd, besides several inmates lodged in the Amritsar Central Jail in January this year for cross-border smuggling through drones.

Vikram Jeet Duggal said the police were keeping a watchful eye on the drug-peddles who were out on bail and also on those inside the high-security jail. He said a special campaign would be started to nail the absconding drug smugglers.