Nurpur: Mother-son duo among 5 held for drug trade

Intensifying its crackdown on drug smuggling and aiming to dismantle interstate narcotics networks, the Nurpur district police have arrested five accused in separate operations over the past three days.

In the first instance, the Fatehpur police team intercepted a motorcycle at a naka in Khatiyar and apprehended two individuals with 8.14 grams of heroin (chitta) in their possession. The arrested were identified as Abhay Pathania, son of Ajay Singh, and Rohit, son of Rachhpal Singh — both residents of Minta village. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against them.

Based on interrogation and further investigation, the police arrested a third accused, Paramjeet Kaur, wife of Sukhdev Singh from Hamira village in Kapurthala district, Punjab. She has been booked under Sections 21, 25, 29, and 61–85 of the NDPS Act. The police suspect an interstate drug smuggling racket and are expanding their probe. Nurpur SP Ashok Ratan said efforts were ongoing to trace further links in the network.

In another action on July 22, the Damtal police raided a house in Chhanni village, recovering 14.68 grams of heroin from Jaswinder Pal, alias Fouzi, and his mother Paramjeet, alias Pamma. Both are known repeat offenders. Chhanni and its adjoining Belli villages are infamously associated with interstate drug peddling.

SP Ratan confirmed that Jaswinder has five past NDPS cases registered between 2012–2022 in Pathankot and Dinanagar, while his mother has faced around 12 cases, including under the Excise Act, in Indora and Pathankot. She was also convicted in one case and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. The police reaffirmed their commitment to uprooting the drug menace from the region.