Amritpal Singh's brother held in drug case, sent to 14-day judicial custody

Chandigarh, July 12 (IANS) Harpreet Singh, brother of jailed radical Sikh preacher and Punjab's Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh who once ran an anti-drug campaign, along with his associate Lovepreet Singh was arrested by the Punjab Police in a drug case and their dope test was positive, officials said on Friday. 

Later, they were sent to a 14-day judicial custody, despite the demand for police custody. They were arrested by Jalandhar (Rural) Police from Phillaur town for carrying four grams of ice drug (methamphetamine).

Another person Sandeep Arora, who is believed to be the supplier of the drug to them, was also arrested.

Confirming the development, Senior Superintendent of Police Ankur Gupta told the media that an FIR has been lodged against the accused.

"Three people identified as Lovepreet, Harpreet and Sandeep Arora have been arrested. They were arrested last (Thursday) night. Four grams of ice have been recovered," he said.

He said that the dope test of Harpreet Singh, 33, and Lovepreet Singh was positive. The drug was purchased from Sandeep Arora, a Ludhiana-based alleged supplier of drugs.

Both Harpreet Singh and Lovepreet Singh belong to Amritsar. The drug was recovered from them during the checking of the car in which the duo was travelling.

A senior police official said both the accused were caught consuming drugs in the car. "A lighter, half-burnt Rs 20 note and foil papers being used by the accused for consuming drugs were recovered from the spot. The contraband was recovered from the pocket of Harpreet Singh," he said.

Denying charges framed against his son, Amritpal's father Tarsem Singh has sought a fair probe into the allegations of drug abuse by his son Harpreet Singh.

"This is a conspiracy against our family and supporters of Amritpal Singh. We had apprehended that the government could hatch a conspiracy to defame us. This is aimed at derailing the mission of Amritpal Singh of saving youngsters and creating hurdles in the release of the Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners who have been in jails for the past three decades or more)," he said.

Amritpal Singh, who once gained attention for his anti-drug campaigns, has been detained under the National Security Act (NSA) in Assam's Dibrugarh jail. Last week, he along with Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid took the oath as Lok Sabha MPs after they were granted parole.

Thirty-one-year-old Sikh radical Amritpal Singh, head of Waris Punjab De, won the Khadoor Sahib seat by 1,97,120 votes over his nearest rival, Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira.

During election campaigning, parents and supporters of Amritpal Singh's had demanded his release from jail, highlighting his anti-drug crusade.

They had questioned the government's decision to put Amritpal Singh behind bars, claiming he was just campaigning against drugs and organising Sikh initiation ceremonies.

He was arrested from Moga's Rode village on April 23 last year after he and his supporters had barged into a police station breaking barricades, brandishing swords and weapons, and clashed with police personnel in an attempt to free one of his aides from custody.

Rode is the native village of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Amritpal Singh had tried to pose himself as Bhindranwale 2.0.

--IANS

vg/sha