E-Paper
NIA court denies bail to Amritsar man in heroin case
The accused was nominated and arrested five years ago during the course of an investigation into heroin seized from three of his associates
A special NIA court in Mohali has denied regular bail to Rajender Singh alias Randeep Singh, a 33-year-old resident of Amritsar, in a case involving alleged heroin trafficking and terror-funding links.
The accused was nominated and arrested five years ago during the course of an investigation into heroin seized from three of his associates.
His name cropped up after the Amritsar police team stopped his Hyundai Verna car at a checkpoint and recovered 400 gm of heroin from Jajbir Singh Samra, 90 gm from Harpreet Singh alias Happy and 10gm from Varinder Singh Chahal. The bail plea of the three accused is pending before court.
Police also seized ₹1.2 lakh in cash and digital material. The investigation was later transferred to the State Special Operation Cell and subsequently handed over to the NIA in January 2020, and Rajender Singh was arrested, as it was alleged that he was a close associate of the main accused, Samra.
Investigators claimed Rajender Singh purchased several consignments of heroin and distributed them through a local network.
The agency further alleged that the accused invested drug proceeds in immovable properties in the Jandiala Guru and Amritsar areas in the names of relatives. Investigators also alleged that he purchased a Toyota Fortuner and a Mahindra Thar using money generated from drug trafficking.
Defence counsel argued that Rajender was not named in the original FIR, no contraband was recovered from him, and he had remained in custody for over five years. The defence also contended that the trial would take considerable time to conclude.
The court observed that offences involving commercial quantities of narcotics attract the strict bail provisions of Section 37 of the NDPS Act. It noted that the available material, including witness statements and financial transactions linked to drug proceeds, created a prima facie case against the accused under Section 27-A of the NDPS Act.
The court also held that the accused failed to satisfy the two legal conditions required for bail in such cases, that there are reasonable grounds to believe he is not guilty and that he is unlikely to commit an offence while on bail.
Considering the seriousness of the allegations and the possibility that the accused could influence witnesses or tamper with evidence, the court dismissed the bail application.
