New Delhi: A BSF constable died weeks after his arrest by the Narcotics Control Bureau in a two-year-old case of cross-border smuggling of heroin, with the agency saying he suffered “two cardiac events”, even as his family has alleged custodial torture and demanded a judicial probe.
An NCB spokesperson said Jaswinder Singh was arrested 3 March this year in the September 2024 case, in which his elder brother was also arrested previously. Pupinder Singh was also a BSF jawan before his dismissal on the grounds of carrying out smuggling activities during his posting at border outposts with Pakistan.
An agency spokesperson said Jaswinder was taken into custody after an investigation into the September 2024 case revealed that he was in touch with Pakistan-based smugglers and was actively involved in the smuggling of contraband in the border districts of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
Jaswinder, a resident of RS Pura area, was posted in the Tripura sector of the border-guarding force.
“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 said in a statement Monday.
“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,” he further said.
Complying with the protocol prescribed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Supreme Court of India, the local zone of the NCB in Amritsar has initiated procedures such as inquest proceedings by a judicial magistrate, a magisterial enquiry by the executive magistrate, and a post-mortem examination.
#WATCH | Amritsar, Punjab: On the death of a BSF constable, Jaswinder Singh, allegedly during an NCB interrogation, SHO, Maqboolpura Police Station, Jagjit Singh says, "He was brought in for questioning in connection with a case being investigated by the Narcotics Control Bureau.… pic.twitter.com/TkNgCRrAZf
— ANI (@ANI) March 22, 2026
The post-mortem report is awaited.
The NCB statement, especially related to Jaswinder’s death, comes as Jaswinder’s family has been levelling allegations of torture and harassment at the hands of NCB officers.
The family sat on a dharna in the RS Pura area of Jammu and demanded a judicial probe, alleging that the family was informed directly on 20 March, asking them to collect the body.
On the other hand, NCB officials maintained that Jaswinder was taken to Amritsar as part of the investigation, as his “syndicate” was operating in the border districts of Punjab.
“There is evidence against him, related to his active connection with smugglers based in Pakistan, and that he was an instrumental player, along with his brother, in this syndicate,” an NCB official told ThePrint.
According to the NCB document presented before the special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court in Jammu, the crackdown by the anti-narcotics agency began in September 2024 when a team of the agency officials intercepted and caught hold of a man, believed to be a carrier, with 344 grams of Heroin near Mira Sahib in Jammu district.
The carrier, identified as Rajinder Singh, further allegedly revealed to the NCB that he was working on the direction and in company with Pupinder Singh. Pupinder was arrested subsequently in October 2024.
The agency further told the court that Rajinder also informed the investigators that the heroin consignment taken up by him before his arrest was sourced from Pakistan and had been dropped by drones near Baba Chamliyal Border.
“Later, on the directions of the Pupinder, he (Rajinder) was supposed to hand over the banned substance to his other associates. The carrier also revealed that he had supplied the banned substance on Pupinder’s direction at least twice before the arrest at the price of Rs 20,000 per consignment,” the NCB told told ourt.
According to the documents, Rajinder also revealed during the probe that Pupinder had handed him an iPhone 15 Plus with a pre-installed WhatsApp Business account using an international number to stay in touch with him.
“Pupinder himself was using a Business WhatsApp account with a fake international code to mask his identity over WhatsApp,” an NCB official said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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