Bust drug cartel, High Court directs Punjab DGP

Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 20

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Punjab Director General of Police to bust drug cartel after being told of an extraordinary method of drug trafficking, in which the manufacturers were themselves creating fake companies to supply intoxicant tablets.

Fake firms supplying intoxicants

• The petitioner submitted the manufacturers had themselves created fake companies for supplying intoxicant tablets
• The stock of such tablets was being handed over to drug suppliers to facilitate trafficking in Punjab and other states

Justice HS Madaan asserted this was to be done “by catching hold of the persons who are supplying drugs by way of creating fake companies, or otherwise, and fake medical stores are being run without valid licences”. Justice Madaan was hearing a petition filed against the State of Punjab by Tarsem Singh through counsel Raj Kumar Gupta for pre-arrest bail in a case registered on January 6, 2019, at the Samrala police station in Ludhiana district under the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

The Bench was told that one Manpreet Singh was allegedly apprehended by the police at a naka at Samrala main chowk and contraband in the form of certain tablets was allegedly found in his possession.

During the course of investigation, Manpreet Singh allegedly disclosed that he had supplied tablets to Channi Medicos of which petitioner Tarsem Singh was the proprietor. Tarsem Singh, subsequently, approached the Ludhiana Special Court for anticipatory bail. But his plea was dismissed and he approached the High Court.

The petitioner’s counsel submitted the manufacturers had themselves created fake companies for supplying intoxicant tablets. The stock of such tablets was being handed over to drug suppliers to facilitate trafficking. Granting pre-arrest bail, Justice Madaan asserted enough material was not there at the current stage to show that he had committed an offence under the NDPS Act.