Ludhiana: Four held with cash, heroin in Doraha; ex-sarpanch booked

Doraha station house officer (SHO) Jaswinder Singh said the arrests were made when assistant sub-inspector Satpal Singh and his team stopped a car coming from the direction of Jaggi’s residence, on suspicion

The Doraha police arrested four accused and seized 20 grams of heroin, ₹3.5 lakh drug money, and 33 US dollars from their possession near Chankoiyan Khurd village. The accused were apprehended while travelling in a car allegedly linked to former village sarpanch Jagjit Singh Jaggi, who has now been booked in the case and is currently absconding, police said.

Police have registered a case against Jaggi under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and launched a manhunt to trace him. (HT Photo)

Doraha station house officer (SHO) Jaswinder Singh said the arrests were made when assistant sub-inspector Satpal Singh and his team stopped a car coming from the direction of Jaggi’s residence, on suspicion. Upon searching, police recovered narcotics and large sums of cash along with foreign currency. During questioning, the accused reportedly confessed to being involved in drug trafficking in collaboration with former sarpanch Jagjit Singh Jaggi.

Police have registered a case against Jaggi under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and launched a manhunt to trace him.

Following the development, chaos erupted in Chankoiyan Khurd as villagers and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders gathered in large numbers outside Jaggi’s house in his support. Family members, party workers, and locals accused the police of acting under political pressure.

Senior SAD leader Gurpreet Singh Lapran said, “The case against Jaggi is politically motivated. The current government is misusing law enforcement agencies to tarnish the image of Akali leaders. If the police do not withdraw the case, we will protest outside the senior superintendent of police (SSP) office and, if needed, approach the DGP.”

Echoing similar concerns, Manjit Singh Madanipur, SAD in-charge from Payal, claimed the FIR was a deliberate attempt to gain political mileage. “This is an attack on the reputation of our party. We won’t tolerate such politically driven actions,” he said.

Meanwhile, police officials maintain that the case is based purely on evidence collected during the operation, and there is no political influence in the investigation. The search for the absconding ex-sarpanch continues.