Chandigarh radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh's brother Harpreet Singh and two others have been arrested by the Jalandhar police in a drugs case, officials said on Friday.
Harpreet Singh alias Happy was caught along with another accomplice, identified as Lovepreet Singh alias Luv, on Thursday night while the duo was preparing to "consume" drugs, Senior Superintendent of Police (Jalandhar Rural) Ankur Gupta said in Jalandhar.
One more person identified as Sandeep Arora, a resident of Ludhiana's Haibowal area, from whom the duo had allegedly procured the drug, was also arrested, the SSP said.
Four grams of ICE drug (methamphetamine) was recovered during the search of the car in which Harpreet Singh and Lovepreet Singh were present, Gupta said.
A case has been registered under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, he added.
SSP Gupta said that Punjab Police has been carrying out special anti-drug drive.
"During patrols, a suspicious car with tinted windows and mesh was found parked on the side of the national highway at Phillaur," he said.
"Two persons, identified as Lovepreet Singh alias Luv, son of Gurpreet Singh, under Beas police station in Amritsar district, were in the driver's seat. Another person in the car was identified as Harpreet Singh alias Happy, son of Tarsem Singh, Jallupur Khera, Amritsar district," the SSP said.
"The car was searched in the presence of a DSP and methamphetamine weighing 4 grams was recovered. A lighter, silver foil and some other items were also recovered," said Gupta.
He said the duo had purchased the drug from a man identified as Sandeep Arora from Ludhiana. "They had even made a payment of Rs 10,000 digitally and procured the medicine from him," the SSP said.
When the police caught the duo, they were preparing to consume the drug, Gupta said, adding that their drug test was positive.
Another police officer said that during the search of the car, a small polythene was recovered from Harpreet Singh and the drugs found inside were seized.
Two lighters, a silver foil and a pipe for consuming the drug were recovered from Lovepreet Singh, the official said.
Harpreet Singh is between 30 and 35 years old and "was doing some dispatch work in transport," he said. Both he and Lovepreet Singh hail from Amritsar, the official added.
Meanwhile, reacting to the arrest of his son, Harpreet Singh's father Tarsem Singh alleged that it was a "huge conspiracy to defame our family".
"We have raised our voice against the drug menace and it could be a trap, a conspiracy to defame our family," Tarsem Singh said in Amritsar.
He claimed that Harpreet Singh left his house around 1 pm on Thursday and was alone at that time.
"After a few hours, when we tried to contact him, his phone was switched off," Tarsem Singh said.
"We don't know how he reached the Jalandhar area," he added.
Tarsem Singh said that they did not get any information about Harpreet Singh's arrest from the government or the police and came to know about it from the media.
Harpreet Singh's brother Amritpal Singh is currently lodged in a prison in Assam's Dibrugarh district for offenses under the National Security Act (NSA). Recently, Amritpal was flown to Delhi on a four-day parole for taking oath as a member of the Lok Sabha.
Having fought the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as an independent, Amritpal Singh won from the Khadoor Sahib seat and defeated Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira.
Amritpal Singh, who heads the group 'Waris Punjab De' and has named himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was jailed along with nine of his associates under the NSA.
He was arrested in Rode village in Moga after he and his supporters stormed the Ajnala police station on February 23 last year, breaking barricades, brandishing swords and guns, and clashed with police personnel in a attempt to free one of his assistants from custody.
Harpreet Singh alias Happy was caught along with another accomplice, identified as Lovepreet Singh alias Luv, on Thursday night while the duo was preparing to "consume" drugs, Senior Superintendent of Police (Jalandhar Rural) Ankur Gupta said in Jalandhar.
One more person identified as Sandeep Arora, a resident of Ludhiana's Haibowal area, from whom the duo had allegedly procured the drug, was also arrested, the SSP said.
Four grams of ICE drug (methamphetamine) was recovered during the search of the car in which Harpreet Singh and Lovepreet Singh were present, Gupta said.
A case has been registered under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, he added.
SSP Gupta said that Punjab Police has been carrying out special anti-drug drive.
"During patrols, a suspicious car with tinted windows and mesh was found parked on the side of the national highway at Phillaur," he said.
"Two persons, identified as Lovepreet Singh alias Luv, son of Gurpreet Singh, under Beas police station in Amritsar district, were in the driver's seat. Another person in the car was identified as Harpreet Singh alias Happy, son of Tarsem Singh, Jallupur Khera, Amritsar district," the SSP said.
"The car was searched in the presence of a DSP and methamphetamine weighing 4 grams was recovered. A lighter, silver foil and some other items were also recovered," said Gupta.
He said the duo had purchased the drug from a man identified as Sandeep Arora from Ludhiana. "They had even made a payment of Rs 10,000 digitally and procured the medicine from him," the SSP said.
When the police caught the duo, they were preparing to consume the drug, Gupta said, adding that their drug test was positive.
Another police officer said that during the search of the car, a small polythene was recovered from Harpreet Singh and the drugs found inside were seized.
Two lighters, a silver foil and a pipe for consuming the drug were recovered from Lovepreet Singh, the official said.
Harpreet Singh is between 30 and 35 years old and "was doing some dispatch work in transport," he said. Both he and Lovepreet Singh hail from Amritsar, the official added.
Meanwhile, reacting to the arrest of his son, Harpreet Singh's father Tarsem Singh alleged that it was a "huge conspiracy to defame our family".
"We have raised our voice against the drug menace and it could be a trap, a conspiracy to defame our family," Tarsem Singh said in Amritsar.
He claimed that Harpreet Singh left his house around 1 pm on Thursday and was alone at that time.
"After a few hours, when we tried to contact him, his phone was switched off," Tarsem Singh said.
"We don't know how he reached the Jalandhar area," he added.
Tarsem Singh said that they did not get any information about Harpreet Singh's arrest from the government or the police and came to know about it from the media.
Harpreet Singh's brother Amritpal Singh is currently lodged in a prison in Assam's Dibrugarh district for offenses under the National Security Act (NSA). Recently, Amritpal was flown to Delhi on a four-day parole for taking oath as a member of the Lok Sabha.
Having fought the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as an independent, Amritpal Singh won from the Khadoor Sahib seat and defeated Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira.
Amritpal Singh, who heads the group 'Waris Punjab De' and has named himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was jailed along with nine of his associates under the NSA.
He was arrested in Rode village in Moga after he and his supporters stormed the Ajnala police station on February 23 last year, breaking barricades, brandishing swords and guns, and clashed with police personnel in a attempt to free one of his assistants from custody.
