CHANDIGARH: The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of Punjab Police has arrested former MLA and BJP leader Satkar Kaur Gehri, along with her nephew, for attempting to sell 100 grams of heroin near Sunny Enclave in Kharar.
Kaur was elected as the Congress MLA from Ferozepur Rural in 2017 and later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2022 after the Congress denied her the ticket.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sukhchain Singh Gill said that the arrested nephew has been identified as Jaskeerat Singh, a native of Behbal Khurd village in Ferozepur and currently residing at Ex-MLA’s house at Sunny Enclave in Kharar.
Jaskeerat was driving the car, while the ex-MLA was sitting along with him. The alleged accused Satkar Kaur has remained a Congress MLA from 2017-2022 from the Ferozepur Rural constituency.
Later, police teams recovered 28 grams more heroin from the house of the Ex-MLA, taking the total recovery to 128 grams. Police teams also recovered 1.56 lakh cash, some gold ornaments and several car registration number plates bearing Haryana and Delhi numbers, during the house search.
Four vehicles including Toyota Fortuner, BMW, Hyundai Verna and Chevrolet were also impounded.
Gill said the teams of ANTF have received reliable input from a source, who claimed that he has been purchasing drugs from Ex-MLA Satkar Kaur.
“The source even provided substantial evidence including a few mobile numbers and call recordings to the police teams, which indicated the involvement of the Ex-MLA in smuggling drugs,” he said.
Acting on the information, a sting operation was planned and a decoy, who cracked a deal with the Ex-MLA, was sent to the predetermined location near a kiosk close to Sunny Enclave to execute the transaction, he said.
He also added that as they delivered the drugs, ANTF teams swiftly intervened and apprehended both individuals after they made an unsuccessful attempt to flee from the spot.
During the operation, one police personnel also sustained injuries when the accused driver tried to run over the former. The IGP said that subsequently, a thorough search was conducted at the accused’s residence, which led to the recovery of 28 grams of heroin, cash believed to be proceeds from drug trafficking and luxury cars along with several vehicle number plates, further implicating Kaur in extensive illicit activities.
He said that further investigations are on to establish backwards and forward linkages in this case and more arrests are expected in the coming days. A case has been registered under sections 21 and 29 of the NDPS act at Police Station Special Task Force (STF), SAS Nagar.