Punjab police transfer drug kingpin to Dibrugarh jail to disrupt mafia-jail officials nexus

Guwahati, August 14: The Central Jail in Dibrugarh will be housing a dreaded drug trafficker arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Punjab.

Touted to be a move to dismantle the alleged nexus between drug traffickers, police, and jail officials in Punjab, the police of the North Indian state transferred notorious drug trafficker Balwinder Singh, alias Billa, to Dibrugarh Central Jail.

This marks the first time an accused caught under NDPS Act has been moved outside Punjab for such reasons by the state’s police.

Balwinder, a habitual offender with ties to Pakistan-based drug syndicates, was arrested on August 12 in a joint operation by the Punjab Police and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.

With over ten cases registered against him under various sections of the NDPS Act, Singh’s transfer is seen as a strategic move to ensure his safety and to thwart any potential escape attempts.

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav confirmed that Singh’s transfer to Dibrugarh is aimed at dismantling the “deep-rooted” connections between the drug mafia and the state's police and jail officials.

Under the stringent provisions of the PIT-NDPS Act, Balwinder faces detention for over a year.

The move comes as part of a broader crackdown on corruption and illicit drug operations in Punjab.

In June, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had ordered the transfer of 10,000 police officers and personnel to tackle the deep-rooted connections between drug traffickers and law enforcement.

Earlier, Dibrugarh Central Jail had grabbed headlines for housing separatist leader-turned-MP Amritpal Singh, along with his accomplices, under the National Security Act (NSA) for over a year.

The Punjab Police’s efforts reflect a determined stance to cleanse the system and ensure that drug traffickers face justice without the influence of compromised officials.