2 held with poppy husk

Punjab Police on Sunday arrested two, including a woman, in Jalandhar and allegedly recovered more than five quintals of poppy husk from their possession.

The arrested have been identified as 45-year-old Sukhbir Kaur from Adampur’s Arjunwal village, and 36-year-old Baljit Singh from Adampur’s Haripur village. Both have been booked under section 15 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Maqsudan police station in Jalandhar (Rural) district.

“Sukhbir Kaur, a widow, admitted that she has been in this business of selling poppy husk since past 12-13 years after her husband died in 2000. He has also undergone 10-year imprisonment under the NDPS Act in a 2006 case,” said Jalandhar Rural SSP Navjot Singh Mahal, adding that another FIR has been filed against her dated July 8, 2017, under section 15 of NDPS Act at Adampur police station.

SSP Mahal said: “In preliminary investigations, it has been revealed that she along with her accomplice Baljit Singh use to bring consignments of poppy husk from Jammu and Kashmir and conceal the same in the kothi of which Baljit was caretaker and use to sell the same by reaping huge margins.”

Baljit, who also gave the same details, is in the business of selling poppy husk with Sukhbir Kaur alias Shinder from past two years.

Mahal said, “A police naka at at Adda Kabulpur was laid when the cops stopped a Tata Indigo car from which Baljit Singh and Sukhbir Kaur were apprehended. Kartarpur Sub-Division DSP Digvijay Kapil was called on the spot and car was search after which two sacks of poppy husk were recovered.”

Sukhbir Kaur revealed that Baljit Singh is caretaker of a kothi of an NRI in Sukha Colony, Adampur, where they had concealed remaining consignment of poppy husk.

“On their revelation, the search of the said kothi was got conducted upon which 26 sacks of poppy husk were recovered. As such a total of 28 sacks containing five quintal of poppy husk was recovered from them,” said the SSP.