The arrest is linked to a massive recovery of narcotics made last month, further intensifying the political heat surrounding the drug menace in Punjab.
In a significant development in the ongoing crackdown on cross-border smuggling, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Wednesday arrested Parminder Singh, alias Pamma, the AAP Sarpanch of Kalsian village. The arrest is linked to a massive recovery of narcotics made last month, further intensifying the political heat surrounding the drug menace in Punjab.
The arrest is the result of an ongoing investigation stemming from a joint operation conducted by the NCB and the Border Security Force (BSF) on February 16. During that operation, teams intercepted a major shipment at Kakkar and Pandori villages, seizing:
- 8.8 kg of Heroin
- 5.6 kg of Methamphetamine (commonly known as ‘ICE’)
- 3 kg of Opium
Three drug peddlers were initially apprehended during the February raid. Sources within the NCB revealed that during the interrogation of one of the suspects, Jaspal Singh alias Jassa who is a resident of Ajnala and the name of Parminder Singh Pamma surfaced as a key link in the distribution network.
Pamma was produced before the Ajnala court on Wednesday, where the magistrate granted a two-day police remand. Officials suggest that this arrest is likely the tip of the iceberg, with further raids and arrests expected as the bureau probes deeper into the sarpanch’s alleged connections.
Political Firestorm Erupts
The arrest of a ruling party representative has provided fresh ammunition to the opposition, who have long accused the state government of failing to curb the drug trade despite high-decibel campaigns.
Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle to criticize the government’s “Yudh Nashia Virudh” (War Against Drugs) initiative. Randhawa alleged that while the state spends crores of rupees on advertisements to project a clean image, its own grassroots leaders are being found in possession of, or linked to, massive quantities of narcotics.
SAD leader Virsa Singh Valtoha also weighed in on social media, pointing out a particularly grim irony: Pamma reportedly served as the president of the local Village Defence Committee which is a body specifically constituted to assist security forces in preventing cross-border smuggling.
“It is a grave concern when those entrusted to defend our villages against the influx of drugs are themselves found involved in the trade,” Valtoha stated.
The NCB is currently investigating Pamma’s financial records and mobile data to trace the origin of the seized ‘ICE’ and heroin, which are suspected to have been pushed across the border. Investigators are particularly interested in determining if the sarpanch’s political influence was used to facilitate the movement of contraband through sensitive border zones.
