Amritsar (Gurpreet Singh): Former Punjab Police Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Rachhpal Singh has been arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in connection with a fabricated heroin recovery case that dates back to 2017, according to sources familiar with the development.
The arrest was made by the Jalandhar ANTF unit, which later produced Singh in a local court and secured his police remand. While officials have not made any official announcement, internal sources confirmed that the arrest follows years of legal proceedings and investigative scrutiny.
The case stems from an incident on August 3, 2017, when Balwinder Singh was allegedly detained by the Special Task Force (STF) in Amritsar and accused of smuggling heroin from Pakistan. Police at the time claimed to have seized one kilogram of heroin from his possession, but subsequent findings indicated that the narcotics were planted evidence. Three other people were also charged in connection with the case.
Balwinder Singh later challenged the allegations before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking an independent investigation. During the hearings, discrepancies were unearthed through CCTV footage and call record data, suggesting that the STF’s operation was misrepresented.
In November 2019, the High Court ordered then DGP (Bureau of Investigation) Pramod Ban to conduct an internal probe. His report, submitted in December 2020, found significant inconsistencies, including location data and call logs that contradicted the STF’s version of events.
As the findings raised serious questions about the credibility of the earlier investigation, the High Court transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in January 2021. The CBI later discovered that the heroin seized in the 2017 operation had actually been recovered from another individual, Gurjant Singh alias Sonu, but was falsely shown as being seized from Balwinder Singh. Gurjant Singh was reportedly released, while Balwinder was framed using falsified records.
The recent arrest of Rachhpal Singh is being viewed as a major breakthrough in a case that has exposed serious lapses and alleged misconduct within sections of Punjab’s police force during its anti-drug drives.
