Mishandling protests to planting drugs and death in custody: Punjab Police faces credibility test

A string of incidents involving Punjab Police personnel allegedly indulging in drug-related activities, planting narcotics to frame an individual, and mishandling protests over murders, coupled with three bodies lying in mortuaries awaiting cremation, has brought the force under intense scrutiny and raised questions about accountability and supervision by senior officers.

The developments have unfolded within weeks of IPS officer Gaurav Yadav being appointed regular Director General of Police (DGP) on October 9, after holding the charge as officiating DGP for nearly four years. The public and political outrage over allegations of police personnel being involved in the drug trade has also cast a shadow over the AAP government’s flagship Yudh Nasheyan Virudh (war against drugs) campaign.

The chain of events began with the murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota on October 13, which was livestreamed on social media and triggered widespread outrage. What followed was a series of police actions that drew criticism for failing to address public anger. Initially, the local Station House Officer (SHO) was transferred and subsequently suspended.

As the situation escalated, with a full-fledged dharna in Mansa demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the DGP, a DSP was also suspended. However, the police leadership did not concede the family’s demand for the transfer of Mansa SSP Vaibhav Chaudhary. Instead, in a belated move, DSP-level officers across all three subdivisions of the district were changed on October 29. Chaudhary continues to head the district even as the state government was eventually compelled to order a CBI probe into Jhota’s murder.

A day after Jhota’s murder, on October 14, Constable Karandeep Singh, deployed on anti-drone duty, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) near the Indo-Pak border in Tarn Taran district. The NCB allegedly recovered 15-16 kg of heroin from him. The arrest raised questions about the anti-drug campaign at a time when a police personnel himself was accused of involvement in drug trafficking. The Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have alleged that the constable could not have been operating independently and have demanded a probe into the role of senior police officers.

The police faced further criticism after videos showing personnel carrying away the body of Daljit Singh, a marginal farmer from Bhamme Kalan village in Mansa district, went viral. Found dead on October 27, Daljit’s family blamed the death on drug overdose, while the police registered a murder case. His body was taken into police custody amid an attempt by his family to join the Jhota protest.

A post-mortem examination was conducted at AIIMS Bathinda, where the body remains. The deadlock over its cremation continues, with the family demanding, among other things, the release of those arrested during protests and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

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The third body awaiting cremation is that of Ajay Kumar from Abohar. He was shot outside a Valmiki temple on September 27 and succumbed to his injuries on October 19 while undergoing treatment at a hospital. His family has refused to allow a post-mortem examination and cremation, demanding action on the basis of his alleged dying declaration, the arrest of those named by him, a fair investigation or a CBI probe, and accountability.

Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh has accused the police of pressuring the families of all three deceased to cremate the bodies. “The bodies of Jhota, Daljit and Ajay Kumar are lying in mortuaries for weeks and their families are under immense pressure from the police to drop their demands and cremate them. It is a worrying situation,” Pargat said in a statement.

Even as the force was dealing with these developments, another embarrassment followed on October 30 when Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Sehajpreet Singh was allegedly caught by local residents consuming chitta (synthetic heroin) in Budhlada, also in Mansa district. He reportedly admitted that the drug belonged to him. Videos showing members of the public confronting the ASI subsequently went viral.

An even more serious allegation surfaced on October 31, when CCTV footage purportedly showed a police officer planting narcotics inside a residence in Khanna to implicate a local leader in a drug case.

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ASI Sukhdev Singh of Khanna police was allegedly captured entering the house of Shiv Sena Punjab leader Mahant Kashmir Giri in plainclothes and placing a packet of heroin under a mattress. Moments later, a team of uniformed police personnel arrived, searched the premises and claimed to have recovered around 30 grams of heroin from the same spot. Giri was arrested.

The family subsequently released the CCTV footage. Khanna SSP Darpan Ahluwalia suspended Sukhdev Singh following the allegations. The Congress, meanwhile, demanded his dismissal from service and registration of a case against him under the NDPS Act.

“Something similar happened with me too when evidence was planted to implicate me under the NDPS Act. You can imagine how thousands of innocent persons must be languishing behind bars after being framed by corrupt police officials in a similar manner. This blows the lid off the government’s so-called Yudh Nasheyan Virudh,” Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said in a post on X.

On November 2, SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia raised another case involving alleged lapses in a drug investigation. Addressing a press conference, he said a person arrested by the Amritsar Rural Police in March 2026 secured default bail in September after spending six months in jail because the police had failed to file a chalan within the stipulated period.

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“This shows that senior police officers are hand in glove with drug smugglers. Earlier, the SHO who had registered a case in this matter was transferred out under political pressure,” Majithia alleged.

The latest incident in the series occurred on Tuesday in Ludhiana, where Raj Singh alias Raju, an accused in a firing incident at a gurdwara in Rajoana Kalan, died after being interrogated in police custody. He had been arrested by the Ludhiana Rural Police and taken on remand. He allegedly complained of chest pain while in custody and was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered.

Attempts were made to contact DGP Gaurav Yadav for his comments. However, he did not respond to phone calls or to a message sent to his phone.