Punjab: Amritpal Singh’s brother Harpreet among 3 arrested in drug case in Jalandhar
Khadoor Sahib MP’s brother Harpreet Singh caught consuming drugs in car parked along national highway near Phillaur town at 11pm on Thursday
Khadoor Sahib member of Parliament Amritpal Singh’s elder brother Harpreet Singh was among three people arrested with 4gm of ICE (Methamphetamine) on the Jalandhar-Panipat national highway near Phillaur on Thursday night, police said on Friday.
While Harpreet, alias Happy, belongs to Jallu Khera village in Amritsar district, Lovepreet Singh is from Cheema Bath village in Amritsar district and Sandeep Arora from Ludhiana.
Jalandhar Rural senior superintendent of police Ankur Gupta said police intercepted a Hyundai Creta (PB-02-CX-3808) parked along the highway near Phillaur in Jalandhar district at 11pm. “During checking of the vehicle, the police team, which was on routine surveillance, recovered 4gm of ICE, a digital weighing scale and two mobile phones from Harpreet and Lovepreet. Following the recovery, senior officials rushed to the spot. The accused told the police that they had brought the contraband from Ludhiana-based Sandeep Arora,” Gupta said.
The accused confessed that there had transferred ₹10,000 digitally to Sandeep and bought the drugs for consumption. Following their confession, Sandeep was taken into custody.
“According to initial medical reports, the dope test of both Harpreet and Lovepreet was found to be positive. We are going to take the accused into police custody for detailed investigation to establish backward and forward linkages,” the SSP said.
A senior police official said both the accused were caught consuming the drugs in the car. “We have also recovered a lighter, half burnt ₹20 note and foil papers being used by the accused for consuming drugs. The contraband was recovered from the pocket of Harpreet, who was driving the car,” the official said.
Sandeep is a drug peddler is booked in several drug smuggling cases. The SSP said the police are tracing the criminal background of Harpreet and Lovepreet.
A case was registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at Phillaur police station.
Amritpal dubbed himself anti-drug crusader in polls
Ironically, radical Sikh preacher and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail for offences under the National Security Act, had dubbed himself as an anti-drug crusader and vowed to end drug abuse in Punjab.
He was flown to Delhi on July 5 for taking oath as the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha member. Amritpal had defeated Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira. The Waris Punjab De outfit head, who has styled himself after slain Sikh militant Sikh preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, is jailed along with nine of his accomplices under the NSA.
Amritpal was arrested in Moga’s Rode village after he and his supporters barged into Ajnala police station, breaking barricades, brandishing swords and guns, and clashed with police personnel in an attempt to free one of his aides from custody on February 23 last year.
Parents allege ‘govt conspiracy’ to defame Amritpal
Reacting to the arrest, Harpreet’s father Tarsem Singh said, “This is a conspiracy against our family, aides and supporters of Amritpal Singh. We had apprehended that the government could hatch this conspiracy to defame us. Governments are doing this to hide their failures. This is aimed at derailing the mission of Amritpal Singh of saving youngsters and creating hurdles in the release of the Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners who have completed their jail terms).”
“Today, a march was scheduled at Baghapurana in Moga district to seek the release of Bandi Singhs. Harpreet was to take part in the march. However, the government does not like these activities. So, the conspiracy has been hatched”, he claimed, adding “This is not a new thing. The governments have already indulged in registering such false cases. They have already killed Sikhs in fake encounters.”
