Canadian MP's brother caught with drugs, arms
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 4
In what may come as an embarrassment for the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, Raymanpreet Singh, brother of Canadian Minister for Multi Culturalism Tim Uppal who attended NRI Sammelans in Punjab last year and spoke against drugs, has reportedly been arrested by the Canadian police with drugs and illegal arms.
Uppal has been the chief guest at NRI Sammelans. After returning from India, he had claimed in Canada that 70 per cent of the demands of the NRIs had been approved by the SAD-led Punjab Government, a remark that had invited ire from the Punjabi diaspora abroad.
Police officials refused to comment on the development in Canada, though they acknowledged that the Canadian angle to the global drug smuggling trade was vital. The world drug report 2007 had mentioned that Punjab was the transit point for the supply of drugs to Canada and other western countries.
Uppal was not available for comments even though several efforts were made to contact him over phone. News reports from Canada quoted him saying that he found out about his brother’s arrest through the media. He was also quoted saying anyone found guilty of drug offences should “face the full force of the law.”
Police say they recovered two handguns and ammunition, a conductive energy weapon, cocaine, marijuana, hashish and about $12,000 in cash.
(Inputs by Rachna Khaira in Jalandhar)
