Vehicle thief eluding arrest finally nabbed with heroin

A car thief who had been freely roaming in the city after stealing a vehicle on January 15 was finally caught by the police along with heroin. Over the past month, the accused repeatedly violated traffic rules, leading to the issuance of eight challans for offences such as red-light jumping and rash driving. While the police couldn’t locate the stolen vehicle, the traffic police continued issuing fines after the violations were caught on CCTV cameras installed at various intersections.

The accused, identified as Balwinder Singh (42), a resident of Khuda Ali Sher, was apprehended by a district crime cell team at a naka while driving the stolen car. During his arrest, the police found 21.63 gm of heroin in his possession. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against him at the Sector 11 police station.

According to the police, Singh changed the car’s number plate after learning that news about the traffic challans had been published in newspapers. The police said that the accused was a drug addict with a history of criminal activity. “The accused has a tainted past, with 16 cases registered against him, including 14 for theft and burglary.”