The Punjab Police Wednesday arrested a former Congress MLA, who’s now within the BJP, and her driver for allegedly attempting to promote 100 grams of heroin in Mohali’s Kharar space, a senior officer stated.
Inspector Normal (Hqrs) Sukhchain Singh Gill stated the Anti Narcotics Activity Drive (ANTF) additionally seized 100 gram heroin from Satkar Kaur and her driver Jaskeerat Singh who had been arrested within the presence of two ‘impartial witnesses’ when she arrived to promote the contraband to a decoy.
Satkar was behind the wheels of a luxurious automobile and had come to ship the heroin after Jaskeerat, arriving in a separate automobile, had first collected the fee. The deal had been fastened for Rs 2.5 lakh.
A police personnel additionally sustained damage when his ft got here below automobile’s tyres as Satkar allegedly tried to flee. She additionally allegedly hit and broken the automobile of a “witness”, whereas attempting to flee.
Kaur was the MLA from the Ferozepur Rural constituency from 2017 to 2022. She joined the BJP in 2022 after the Congress denied her a ticket to contest the Meeting elections.
On the time of the submitting of this report, police had been finishing up searches at her Sunny Enclave residence in Kharar from the place they recovered one other 28 grams of heroin other than Rs 1.56 lakh in money and a few gold ornaments. Jaskeerat, a resident of Ferozepur’s Behbal Khurd village, had been residing on the ex-MLA’s residence, Gill stated.
Addressing a press convention, Gill stated police additionally recovered 4 automobiles and several other registration plates of Delhi and Haryana, indicating that these had been getting used within the drug provide racket.
The ANTF declare to have of their possession name recordings the place former MLA is allegedly head discussing sale of medication and the ‘purity’ of the contraband smuggled from throughout the border.
IG Gill informed reporters that the anti-narcotics activity power obtained dependable inputs from a supply, who claimed that he had been buying medication from Satkar and alleged that the previous MLA was placing stress on him to begin promoting medication.
“The supply additionally gave name recordings to the ANTF, which clearly indicated that drug gross sales had been being mentioned,” IG Gill stated, added that he additionally gave two numbers, which had been put below surveillance. “Throughout surveillance it emerged that Satkar and Jaskeerat had been speaking about sale of medication,” he stated.
Performing on the knowledge, an operation was deliberate and the “supply” was despatched to a predetermined location as a decoy to purchase the medication from the accused. As the previous legislator arrived to ship the medication, police groups moved in and apprehended her.
In the course of the operation, a policeman additionally sustained accidents when Satkar tried to flee “and the tyre of the automobile ran over his foot”.
He stated a case below sections 21 (Punishment for contravention in relation to manufactured medication and preparations) and 29 (Punishment for abetment and felony conspiracy) of NDPS Act has been registered in Mohali and extra sections could be added in reference to the damage sustained by the policeman, Gill stated.
In 2012 Punjab elections, Congress had fielded Satkar from Ferozepur Rural seat and Rahul Gandhi had addressed a rally in her favour. Nevertheless, she had misplaced the election by 160 votes to Joginder Singh Jindu of Shiromani Akali Dal whom she went on to defeat in 2017 election. In 2022, after Congress denied her ticket, she joined BJP.
Reacting to the event, AAP chief Neel Garg slammed the Congress and the BJP, alleging that it was one other instance of “how deeply these events are concerned with the drug smugglers”.
Garg accused the Congress, BJP and Akali Dal of perpetuating drug smuggling in Punjab.
“The roots of drug trafficking are deep in Punjab, and these events have turned a blind eye to the destruction attributable to habit,” he claimed.
Satkar and her husband Jasmail Singh alias Ladi Gehri had been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in a disproportionate belongings case in September 2023. They remained in judicial custody at Mansa central jail for 114 days earlier than the Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket granted them bail in January this yr.
As per the Vigilance Bureau probe, Satkar allegedly spent 170% greater than her identified sources of revenue ever since she was elected an MLA in 2017. As per the investigators, “When Satkar was elected as a legislator, she and her husband had belongings price 27.05 lakh. After the allegations of corruption, the Vigilance Bureau checked the revenue and expenditure particulars of the ex-MLA and her husband from April 1, 2017, when she was elected from Ferozepur Rural to subsequent 5 years until March 30, 2022.”
On June 7 this yr, a Ferozepur district courtroom framed fees towards them.
