Chandigarh: Jalandhar Rural Police has arrested Harpreet Singh alias ‘Happy’, elder brother of Independent Lok Sabha MP from Khadoor Sahib Amritpal Singh, for alleged possession and consumption of psychotropic substances.
Confirming the development, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jalandhar (Rural), Ankur Gupta told media persons Friday morning that Harpreet Singh was arrested the previous night by Phillaur police from a spot on the Jalandhar and Phillaur highway where he, along with his friend Lovepreet Singh, was found sitting in a stationary car.
“Almost 4 grams of Ice or amphetamine was recovered from the two. They were also carrying a weighing scale in the car. They were arrested and taken for medical tests. Both tested positive in the dope test,” said SSP Gupta.
Aged 33, Harpreet is the older brother of radical Sikh activist Amritpal Singh who was elected as the MP from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib last month. Amritpal has been lodged at Dibrugarh jail in Assam for more than a year now under the National Security Act (NSA).
He contested the Lok Sabha polls from behind bars and won from Khadoor Sahib with a margin of nearly two lakh votes — highest among the state’s 13 Lok Sabha seats. His campaign was spearheaded by family members and supporters, and centred around curtailing rampant drug abuse in Punjab.
Talking to media persons Friday, Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh alleged that the police falsely implicated Harpreet.
“My son has been framed. It is well known that the police uses all kinds of ways to frame a person and that is what they are doing. They generally plant either weapons or drugs to defame a person. The police cannot tolerate that Amritpal is asking people to leave drugs,” he claimed.
Tarsem Singh also claimed that Harpreet had been working in the region on behalf of Amritpal and had nothing to do with drug use.
“Day before yesterday he had gone to attend a programme in Chabbal. Today he was supposed to go and attend a march in Baghapurana in Moga. Arresting my son is nothing but part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to defame us and our family. There should be an independent investigation into this trap that has been laid for my son,” he said.
In his remarks to the media, Tarsem Singh also claimed that the police did not inform the family about Harpreet’s arrest Thursday night.
“My son’s mobile number was switched off and we were worried. Then we came to know through some people that he had been detained by the police in Jalandhar but there was no confirmation. The confirmation only came through news reports in the morning,” he said.
Giving details of the arrest, SSP Gupta told media persons that a case has been registered against three persons, namely Harpreet Singh, Lovepreet Singh and one Sandeep Arora — a resident of Ludhiana from whom the two allegedly purchased the drug.
“The payment to Sandeep Arora (of Rs 10,000) was made through Paytm the details of which have also been found on the phone of the accused,” he said.
Gupta added that further investigation is underway and all associates of the three accused would be identified in due time.
“Harpreet Singh’s arrest is part of routine naka policing. Three weeks ago a special campaign was launched across Punjab to nab drug peddlers. As part of that campaign vehicles are being checked for suspected drug-related activities,” said SSP Gupta.
He also informed the media that the three accused have been arrested under sections 22, 27 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
When contacted, Sukhdev Singh, station house officer (SHO) of Phillaur police station, told ThePrint that Harpreet’s dope test revealed the presence of three different drugs.
Addressing a press conference Friday evening, Sukhdev Singh said the car in which Harpreet and Lovepreet were found had tinted glasses.
He added, “When the police party approached the car, the two persons sitting inside started hiding something, with their hands tucked away under the car seats. Four grams of amphetamine was recovered from a packet in Harpreet Singh’s pocket. He was also carrying a lighter. There was also a currency note of Rs 20 denomination rolled up which is only used as a pipe by drug users. From Lovepreet Singh, two lighters, a weighing scale and similar pipe used to consume drugs was recovered. A purse was also found in the car which had a silver foil with drug powder on it,” said the SHO.
According to the information provided by the SHO, Harpreet was living with his family in Jallupur Khera. “He is carrying on the family’s transport business online. He had gone to Dubai with his family in 2008 and returned in 2015. Later he went back to Dubai and finally returned in 2021. For some time he also worked with an IT firm in Chandigarh. Lovepreet Singh is his childhood friend and the two studied together,” said the SHO.
Sources close to the family added that Harpreet is married into a Haryana-based family.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)