New Delhi: Police authorities in New Zealand’s Auckland arrested the nephew of Satwant Singh who assassinated former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, over his alleged involvement in drugs peddling, news agency ANI reported, Saturday.
Baltej Singh’s arrest comes a month after the Auckland Police — with at least a dozen ‘armed police officers’ — had raided a small warehouse in Manukau, a suburban area in southern Auckland, local newspaper, The New Zealand Herald had reported.
According to reports, ‘multiple pallets of beer cans’ allegedly laced with methamphetamine were found at the raided site. The Police had received information about shipments of ‘Honey Bear House Bear’ cans.
The Police had made its first arrest in this particular case on 10 March and another person, a 40-year old ‘south Asian’ man was reportedly arrested on 28 March.
By 3 April, the Police had recovered at least 328 kilograms of meth, a class A drug in its crystallised form from the said industrial site.
A 21-year old man Aiden Salaga’s death over a beer had also been linked to this meth poisoning, according to a report by 1 News.
According to ANI, Baltej Singh, one of the accused in this case is indeed the nephew of Satwant Singh — one of former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s two bodyguards held responsible for her assassination in 1984. Gandhi is believed to have been killed over her decision to send in the Army to reclaim the Golden Temple in Amritsar from militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
The increase of wealth of Baltej Singh and his family, who had set up a small grocery shop in the 1980s came to the notice of people who knew them, the report by ANI added. It also said that they allegedly bought properties worth above Rs 100 crore and often carried out pro-Khalistani activities in the Oceanic Island.
As of now, Singh is under trial for his alleged involvement in the drug peddling case and its linkage with Salaga’s death. ThePrint could not independently verify the claims made by ANI and its sources.
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