E-Paper
Drug peddler escapes from custody of Amritsar NCB team in Bathinda
A drug peddler escaped from the custody of Amritsar Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) team from a hotel in Bathinda, officials said on Wednesday
Faridkot : A drug peddler escaped from the custody of Amritsar Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) team from a hotel in Bathinda, officials said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Rajesh Kumar Yadav of Sikar in Rajasthan, gave the NCB team the slip on July 10. Instead of confining him in a lockup at the local police station, the NCB team kept the accused at hotel without informing the district police.
Bathinda senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gulneet Singh Khurrana said: “The district police had no prior information that the NCB has brought the accused to Bathinda and kept them at a hotel. We were informed about the escape by the NCB team. Our teams are trying to trace him.”
A case has been registered against the accused on the complaint of NCB inspector Balwant Rai under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) 186 (voluntarily obstructs any public servant in the discharge of his public functions) and 224 (obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) at civil lines police station in Bathinda. A departmental inquiry has been initiated against the cops for negligence in duty.
On July 8, Rajesh and Kulwinder Singh of Sangowal village in Muktsar were arrested from Lehra Bega toll plaza in Bathinda with 3.86 kg opium by the Amritsar NCB team. After registering a case against them under NDPS Act at NCB police in Chandigarh, the bureau got five-day custody of the accused from a Chandigarh court on July 9.
The NCB team planned to take the accused to Thandewala village in Muktsar for more recovery on July 10. “Instead of taking the accused to Amritsar or Chandigarh, the NCB team kept them at a hotel in Bathinda. But Rajesh managed to escape from the hotel. While NCB team claims he pushed the cops and fled from the spot, the CCTV footage shows he walked out of the hotel without any confrontation,” said an official not wishing to be named.
