He delivered drugs to clients on their doorstep

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 31

Haryana landlord Jaswinder Singh alias Sarpanch, owning 70 acres of land in Fatehabad, would travel in his luxury car to deliver drugs to his clients on their doorstep. A fan of Bollywood musician Bappi Lahiri, he sported flashy gold chains. Among his clients were big industrialists and senior officials. He was arrested with 3.4 kg of opium in his Pajero on Wednesday.

“To hoodwink the police, he would travel with paramour Amarjit Amro, booked in 20 NDPS cases, posing as a couple," said Patiala SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu. Jaswinder told the police he first got in touch with his clients in 2014 on social media sites. Soon their number swelled and he would travel to Sangrur, Nabha, Patiala, Bathinda, Ludhiana and Haryana districts to supply drugs. The police said his clients too would be questioned after his claims were verified. Sources said soon after his arrest, several “well-connected persons" tried to approach the district police through various channels, requesting that he be sent to judicial remand without being questioned by the police. Some junior officials too tried to shield the drug dealer. 

Insiders claimed Jaswinder had been jailed for eight years after his arrest in Haryana in 2006 for smuggling poppy husk. In 2014, he jumped parole and began making money by supplying drugs in Punjab, they said.

Acting on a tip-off on Jaswinder's modus uperandi, the police put Samana CIA staff in-charge Vijay Kumar on the job. “On January 30, his team stopped a Pajero. The driver, who was wearing heavy gold chains and bracelets, introduced a woman accompanying him as his wife. A search of their vehicle yielded 3 kg of opium. Both were arrested," the SSP said.

He said Jaswinder offered Rs 20 lakh to the police team for making a phone call. He was taken to a police station and booked under the NDPS Act. Amro, already facing 20 NDPS cases, told the police about an Audi car parked in Samana with 400 gm of opium in the bonnet. The Pajero and Audi both had fake registration numbers. "A report from transport officials is awaited”, the police said.