In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing anti-drugs campaign ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Sangrur Police has uncovered a well-organised smuggling racket operating from within the Jail premises, leading to the arrest of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Security Gurpreet Singh posted at Sangrur Jail, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.
“Acting on credible intelligence, a raid inside the Sangrur Jail had led to the recovery of 12 mobile phones, 4 smartwatches, 50 grams of opium, 12 grams heroin and other contraband items. The preliminary investigation has also pointed to the involvement of a Class-IV employee identified as Parshant, whose role in facilitating the smuggling activities came to light,” said the DGP, while confirming the arrest of the Jail employee.
He said that pursuing backward and forward linkages, the investigation further led to the arrest of Amritsar-based drug smuggler identified as Manpreet Singh, who is an associate of inmate Gurvinder Singh - currently lodged in Sangrur Jail. Police teams have recovered 4 Kg Heroin, ₹5.5 lakh in drug money and one 9MM Glock pistol along with two live cartridges from accused Manpreet’s possession, he added.
The investigation is ongoing, and further arrests and disclosures are expected, said DGP Gaurav Yadav, while reaffirming that no individual, regardless of their rank or position, will be spared if found involved in illegal activities. Sharing more details, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sangrur Sartaj Singh Chahal said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused DSP Gurpreet Singh was actively involved in the smuggling of drugs and mobile phones into the jail premises.
He said that probe has also revealed that the accused DSP had received Rs 40000 cash from inmate Gurchet’s relative and Rs 26000 in his wife’s account via UPI, to facilitate 25 grams heroin and two mobile phones into the jail premises. Of the total 25 grams heroin, 12 grams heroin has been recovered from another inmate identified as Ravi, who was further selling the drugs to inmates on the directions of Gurchet.
The SSP said that a total of 19 accused persons including DSP Gurpreet Singh, employee Parshant, drug smuggler Manpreet Singh, inmate Gurchet’s mother identified as Banto alias Banso and 15 inmates identified as Gurvinder Singh, Lovejeet Singh, Sikander Singh, Pargat Singh, Sultan Singh, Aman Kumar, Ajay, Harpreet Singh of Ludhiana, Rishipal, Harpreet Singh of Dhuri, Munna, Gur Raj Singh, Raghvir Singh, Gurchet Singh and Rajiv Kaushal alias Gaggu have been arrested so far.
He said that further investigations are on to establish forward and backward linkages in this case to unearth the entire network. More arrests and recoveries are likely in the coming days, he added.
A case FIR no 75 dated 27/4/2025 under sections 18, 21, 29 and 27A of the NDPS Act, section 52-A of the Prisons Act and section 25 of the Arms Act had already been registered at Police Station City-1 Sangrur, while, section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been added later.