E-Paper
Jagraon dera head, three followers held with 290gm heroin
Heroin was found in two cars owned by the head of Rishi Ashram Nirmal Kutiya in Jagraon
In a joint operation, the special task forces (STFs) of Ludhiana and Jalandhar police on Thursday nabbed a dera head and his three followers after recovering 290gm heroin from their possession.
STF officials said a homeguard jawan, who was deployed in Ludhiana, used to supply drugs to the self-styled godman, identified as Bhagwan Singh Baba, 34, and his followers, Shani, 33, and Gaurav Kumar, 27, of Tibba Road, and Dharminder Singh, 35, of Kaunke Khosa village, Ludhiana.
Bhagwan is the dera head of Rishi Ashram Nirmal Kutiya in Jagraon.
Sub-inspector Harjit Singh said the accused were nabbed from near Circuit House while they were waiting for their customers in a Hyundai i10 car.
A search of their car revealed 285gm heroin in the dashboard. After interrogating the accused, the STF recovered 5gm heroin hidden inside a toy kept in another i10 car parked on Tibba Road. Both cars, owned by Bhagwan, were seized.
THREE OTHERS BOOKED
The sub-inspector said the accused dera head used to wear saffron garments to avoid checking at police checkposts. All four accused are addicts and into drug peddling for the past two years, the cop said, adding that they had confessed to procuring the drug from a Delhi-based Nigerian, Punjab homeguard jawan Jatinder Kumar and Bharti Bawa of Janta Colony, Jodhewal.
The three suppliers and the other four accused have been booked under Sections 21, 29, 61 and 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at the STF police station in Mohali.
