E-Paper
After 3 years on run, dismissed Punjab AIG Raj Jit Singh arrested in Patiala
Anti-Narcotics Task Force nabs former assistant inspector general following Supreme Court surrender offer over drug-trafficking and extortion charges.
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Chandigarh: Dismissed Punjab Police assistant inspector general (AIG) Raj Jit Singh, who had been absconding for over three years following his termination in a drug-trafficking and police-smuggler nexus case, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in Patiala on Thursday morning.
A senior Punjab Police officer confirmed the arrest was executed using technical surveillance inputs to track his movements.
The arrest follows a September 10 order from a Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices MM Sundresh and Augustine George Masih, directing Raj Jit to surrender after his legal team offered he could give himself up in connection with a special leave petition (SLP) seeking to transfer the probe out of Punjab.
The Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government dismissed Raj Jit on April 17, 2023, based on three special investigation team (SIT) reports submitted to the Punjab and Haryana high court. The SIT concluded there was “no iota of doubt” regarding his complicity with dismissed police inspector Inderjit Singh and their systematic collusion with drug networks.
The findings detailed how Raj Jit abused his official standing, particularly as Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP), while Inderjit served as CIA in-charge, to protect traffickers, frame innocent individuals, and scuttle investigations.
During that tenure, over 50 chemical testing samples under the NDPS Act failed under suspicious circumstances.
The SIT also documented how Raj Jit repeatedly issued official commendation letters and secured transfers for Inderjit despite active criminal cases and pending inquiries against him.
Leveraging their knowledge of legal loopholes in NDPS cases, the duo allegedly extorted money and facilitated bails and acquittals for drug traffickers.
Raj Jit was co-named in FIR No. 1/2017 (originally registered by the STF under NDPS Act provisions and IPC Sections 120-B, 218, and 384). Concurrently, he faces separate proceedings under FIR No. 138/2023 (Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act read with Section 59 of the NDPS Act) alongside an ongoing Vigilance Bureau probe into ₹13 crore in unexplained transactions.
Property attachment proceedings under Section 64(F) of the NDPS Act targeting nine of his identified properties (valued at over ₹4 crore) remain ongoing.
Meanwhile, co-accused and dismissed inspector Inderjit Singh remains under separate custody and trial under PMLA and NDPS provisions following his prior arrest by the Enforcement Directorate and STF.
