Arrested BSF jawan worked for Pak-based handler: DGP

CHANDIGARH : A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan, who was arrested on Sunday for allegedly running a drug and illegal arms smuggling racket, was working at the behest of his Pakistanbased handler, Punjab director general of police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta on Monday said.

The accused, Sumit Kumar of Gurdaspur district, was posted as a constable in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.

He was arrested along with three other members of the racket —Simarjit Singh, alias Simma, Manpreet Singh and Amanpreet Singh, Gupta said in a press statement.

The DGP said after the police in Jalandhar arrested Amanpreet

Singh on July 11 in a case of murder he revealed during investigation that he along with his brothers and Sumit was in touch with one Shah Musa of Pakistan for smuggling narcotics and weapons across the Indo-pakistan border.

Foreign-made weapons, including a 9mm pistol (made in Turkey), 80 cartridges with a Pakistan ordinance factory marking, two magazines and two cartridges of 12 bore gun besides Rs 32.30 lakh drug money were recovered from the BSF constable.

Amanpreet further revealed they came in contact with Shah Musa through Manpreet of Darapur village in Gurdaspur and the BSF constable.

He said Sumit was earlier lodged in the Gurdaspur jail in a murder case, where he came in contact with Manpreet.

The DGP said that the conspiracy to smuggle drugs and weapons was hatched in the Gurdaspur jail.

“He is learnt to have facilitated the entry and delivery of heroin and weapons across the border fence where he was deployed. He received Rs 39 lakh for this,” the DGP said.

MODUS OPERANDI

Gupta said photos of drug consignments and weapons from Pakistan were sent to Sumit by Manpreet and Sukhwant Singh.

Sumit would send his location, border pillar number and details of the surrounding villages to the smugglers further shared the coordinates with their Pakistani handler, he added.