Druglord got call from US minutes before he was shot in Jalandhar, claims family

Tribune News Service

Avneet Kaur/Gubaxpuri

Jalandhar/Tarn Taran, May 23

Minutes before he was shot at near Wadala chowk in Jalandhar on May 12, druglord Gurpreet Gopa, wanted in the 532 kg heroin smuggling case of 2019, had received a call from the USA, reveals his family.

The police are yet to find out who killed Gopa and the motive behind the murder. His father Jasbir Singh said Gopa was hiding in and around Jalandhar for the past several months and was never arrested in the smuggling case.

The heroin was recovered from the Attari Border check-post where goods from Pakistan and Afghanistan were imported. The heroin was hidden in bags containing rock salt. The police had named a US-based smuggler Sarwan Singh and Pakistan smuggler and Khalistan terrorist Ranjeet Singh Cheeta. Gopa had the contract to transport rock salt to New Delhi but he also started delivering heroin.

But despite such a high-profile case, Gopa was never arrested. He even managed to stay in and around Jalandhar for last 10 months. He had been living in Jalandhar’s Mithapur area under a false identity.

A senior police official said that investigators were working on the case and may solve the mystery soon. He said it is true the family had identified Gopa and cremated his body but there are many aspects and possibilities to probe regarding his identity and activities.

The smuggler’s family, however, lives in a simple house in their village at Sarai Amanat Khan.

Jasbir Singh, Gopa’s father and a co-accused in the 2019 heroin case and currently out on bail, broke his silence about his son’s involvement in the drug trade and the events leading to the murder. Speaking to The Tribune at his residence in Sarai Amanat Khan village, where Gopa’s bhog ceremony was held, he revealed that since the 2019 incident, his family suffered much. “All male members were booked in the case and spent years in jail. While I was in jail for three years, his sons Gurpreet and Harpreet (both wanted by the Punjab Police) fled to other states. My wife moved to her parents’ village in Tarn Taran.”

Jasbir revealed that two Nihang Sikhs had helped Gopa after he was shot, rushing him to the Jalandhar Civil Hospital. They discovered that Gopa’s last dialled number was an international call from the USA on WhatsApp and they then informed the recipient about the shooting.

When asked about Gopa’s wife abruptly leaving Jalandhar after the incident, he said the US contact, believed to be a friend of Gopa, informed Kuldeep Kaur (Gopa’s wife) about the incident. Fearful of being taken into custody, she left for their native village. Jasbir added that he had fully cooperated with the police, even taking his daughter-in-law to give her statement on Saturday.

“I bought him a truck to save him from bad company. However, I don’t know when or how the truck was used to transport the 532 kg heroin. Since we owned the truck, my sons and I were booked in the case,” he revealed.

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