CHANDIGARH: Gangster-cum-drug lord Jagdeep Singh alias Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, an accused in Punjab singer Sidhu Moosewala’s murder case has been shifted to Silchar jail in Assam from Central Jail at Bathinda.
He has been detained by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB ) under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (PIT NDPS) Act.
He is the first gangster from the State who has been detained under this act.
Sources said that on March 22, a joint team of the NCB and Punjab police escorted Bhagwanpuria from Bathinda to Chandigarh under heavy security cover. He was flown to Assam via Delhi and Kolkata.
He was lodged in the central jail on March 23 at Silchar.
A four-member NCB team over saw the transfer of this gangster. This transfer of Singh took place following a directive dated March 21, from the Joint Secretary (PIT-NDPS). Thus, the NCB carried out his immediate transfer from high-security Bathinda to Central Jail at Silchar in Assam.
As per his dossier, some 128 cases are against him, including 12 under the NDPS Act. Intelligence reports indicate his involvement with Pakistan-based suppliers and international networks in Canada and the US, underscoring the transnational nature of his activities.
Sources said the PIT-NDPS case was registered in Bhagwanpuria after a detailed investigation in which it was established with evidence how he was allegedly running his operations and orchestrating drug trafficking, extortion besides violent activities from behind bars.
He was also using smuggled mobiles as he was issuing instructions and talking via encrypted communication to coordinate supply chains through an extensive network of operatives.
Statements from some of his co-accused have further corroborated the evidence.
Singh who hails from Bhagwanpur village under the jurisdiction of Kot Surat police station in Gurdaspur district is a notorious gangster and smuggler involved in cross-border narcotics smuggling.
As in many cases, he is also involved with illegal weapons (pistols and revolvers.)
This is the fourth detention from Punjab under the stringent Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (PIT NDPS) Act which allows drug traffickers to be jailed for up to one year without bail.
Last year in August, the NCB detained three other alleged drug lords from the state and shifted them to Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam.
The three individuals detained are Jaspal Singh alias Goldy, Akshay Chhabra and Balwinder Singh alias Billa Havellian.
Sources said that these drug smugglers are running drug syndicates from inside jails in Punjab.
This move seeks to break his powerful grip on criminal networks flourishing in the state and nearby regions.