Ex-AIG Rachhpal Singh arrested in fake heroin seizure case

The Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of the Punjab Police has reportedly arrested former Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Rachhpal Singh in connection with a long-pending case dating back to 2017.

The arrest was carried out by the Jalandhar ANTF unit. Cops have obtained his remand from a local court. However, officials have so far refrained from making any formal confirmation in this regard.

Sources said the case dated back to August 3, 2017, when Balwinder Singh was picked up by the then Special Task Force (STF) of Amritsar from Civil Hospital Patti and later booked under charges of drug smuggling.

Cops allegedly planted a kg of heroin on him and accused him of sourcing the contraband from Pakistan. Three others were also implicated in the matter.

Balwinder Singh subsequently approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, demanding an independent probe, following the filing of a supplementary chargesheet against him.

Subsequent investigation revealed discrepancies through call detail records (CDRs) and CCTV footage.

In November 2019, the High Court directed the then DGP (Bureau of Investigation) Pramod Ban to conduct an inquiry. The DGP’s findings, submitted in December 2020, included call data, CCTV footage, and location details that raised questions over the authenticity of the 2017 operation.

In January 2021, the High Court handed over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after inconsistencies emerged. The inquiry found that a kg of heroin had actually been seized from Gurjant Singh, alias Sonu, but was falsely shown as seized from Balwinder Singh. Gurjant Singh was allegedly released, while Balwinder Singh was framed using fabricated evidence.