In a major development, Retired AIG and former SSP Rashpal Singh, who was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) in a 2019 NDPS case, was produced before an Amritsar court on Thursday through video conferencing citing health-related concerns. The court ordered that he be remanded to judicial custody till November 13.
According to STF officials, Rashpal Singh was taken into custody earlier this week for his alleged involvement in a narcotics case registered in 2019. The case had undergone a high-level inquiry, during which an inspector was also booked.
Speaking to the media, Amarinder Pal Singh, who identified himself as the victim in the case, alleged that he was falsely implicated by planting narcotics on him in 2019. He claimed that Rashpal Singh was named in the case nearly one-and-a-half years ago but was arrested only now.
Amarinder Pal further accused the authorities of providing “VIP treatment” to the retired AIG. He said that although the officer appeared healthy at the time of arrest, he was declared unwell the very next day, with complaints of chest pain and low blood pressure.
“When ordinary citizens are arrested in NDPS cases, they face strict action, but senior officers receive special privileges,” he alleged.
He also stated that he had received threats during the past years due to pursuing the case and was given security as a result. Amarinder Pal added that the recent arrest followed directions from the Punjab & Haryana High Court, where he had been seeking justice since 2019.
As per reports, the case dates back to 2017 when the then AIG had claimed to have seized l-kg heroin from four persons in Amritsar. The matter had been under investigation since then as one of the villagers from Patti district had moved the Punjab and Haryana high court.
In 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) had filed a chargesheet against 10 cops, including Rashpal Singh while maintaining that the accused had fabricated evidence to frame a resident of a border village.
