New Delhi: Multiple signs of haemorrhages on the scalp, bruises and signs of bleeding inside the lungs and spleen as well as injuries on the private parts—the postmortem report of Border Security Force (BSF) constable Jaswinder Singh suggests custodial torture under the custody of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
The 35-year-old was arrested 3 March by the NCB in Jammu and brought to Amritsar for spot identification in a heroin recovery case. He was then admitted to a hospital where he died 20 March. Overall, the 16-page postmortem report mentions 34 injuries, including widespread bluish purple bruises on the thighs and lower portion of the stomach, on the body.
The report, prepared by a medical board comprising doctors from Amritsar’s Civil Hospital, emphasised that all injuries were inflicted prior to the constable’s death, with some of them inflicted between 18 and 24 hours before the death. The postmortem report, however, stops short of explicitly linking the injuries to his death. The cause of death is mentioned as ‘pending’ in the report.
His family had alleged that the NCB team assaulted Jaswinder, while the agency said in a statement that he died after suffering ‘two cardiac events’.
“Jaswinder Singh was arrested on the basis of evidence derived from technical analysis, which revealed that he was in contact with smugglers based in Pakistan, Punjab, and Jammu. Based on the investigation, he was taken to Amritsar, Punjab, on the evening of 19.03.2026 for further investigation,” an NCB spokesperson had said.
“On 19.03.2026 at Amritsar, he developed chest pain and was immediately admitted to Pulse Hospital, Amritsar. He suffered two cardiac events and expired on the morning of 20.03.2026 at Pulse Hospital, Amritsar.”
Jaswinder’s wife Lovejeet Kaur has reiterated that a murder case should be filed against the NCB officials. “The photographs and the videos were strong evidence that he was assaulted, and that he died because of those injuries. Now the postmortem report confirms our allegations and apprehension,” Kaur told ThePrint from Jammu.
Lawyer Sarabjit Singh Verka, who has been providing legal advice to the family, said that the autopsy report made it clear that Jaswinder was badly beaten.
“It is clear from the autopsy report that he was badly beaten, given electric shocks, etc., on private parts, and all the 34 injuries as per the PMR report are during NCB custody. It is, therefore, appropriate to conduct a judicial inquiry at this stage because NCB is a national agency and it could influence proceedings before other central agencies such as CBI,” he told ThePrint.
Reached out for a comment, an NCB official in Jammu said that the agency is yet to receive a copy of the postmortem report and that a comment will be made only after that.
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The two cases
On 3 March, a team from the NCB’s Jammu unit arrested Jaswinder as part of the probe into a nearly two-year-old case in which his brother Pupinder Singh was arrested. Pupinder, according to the NCB, was a kingpin of an organised drug cartel trafficking heroin in Jammu and Punjab. It had identified three more accused as carrier, distributor, and facilitator.
Pupinder was arrested in April last year as part of a probe into the case lodged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, but was discharged by a Samba court on 9 March—nearly a week after the arrest of his brother Jaswinder in the same case.
Three days later, the NCB informed the Samba court that Jaswinder’s custody was needed in another case from September 2024, which involved similar allegations as well as his brother’s ‘involvement’ in the recovery of 344 gm of heroin.
The court then allowed the ED to take custody of Jaswinder in connection with the September 2024 case. This custody was extended up to 23 March. It was during this period that Jaswinder was taken to Amritsar for spot identification and examination but died on 20 March.
(Edited by Tony Rai)